Cataclysm: Demacian Ranger
by ValkyrieLead
Summary: Quinn has her orders: Track down the Noxian Assassin at any cost. With Valor at her side and armed with only her wits and her crossbow, will Quinn be able to track the Noxian down and bring him to justice before he is able to escape? - Takes place directly after the events of Cataclysm: Kalamanda Rising - T for Violence
1. Part I

The weather was cold, wet and gloomy.

Despite the previous day's sunshine, the only thing that had come of it was ice and frozen mud. The temperature had dropped down well below freezing the night before. The pine forest seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction with countless banks of snow forming on the slow descent towards the coast.

Quinn kicked a tree, trying to loose some of the ice that clung to her leather boots, grumbling as a patch of snow fell from the limbs above, landing on the top of her head. The snow stuck to her hood and dribbled down over her face. The tracker sighed heavily as she scraped the majority of the snow and ice away as she spun and then plopped down onto the ground next to the tree, crossing her legs and pulling her bag up next to her.

"Why can't it be dry snow?" Quinn mumbled under her breath, shaking her head and casting snow and ice to the ground around her. She sighed as she turned her gaze to the overcast gray sky as she leaned back along the tree's gnarled roots. The color of the sky matched her sullen mood. "At least it's not snowing." The tracker grimaced and he eye twitched involuntarily as a single white snowflake drifted down next to her. "Great. To think I used to _like_ snow."

Quinn stuck a hand into her cloak and dug about till she managed to put her hand upon a small journal bound with fine, creamy leather. She flipped the book open, looking through her scribbling and the sketches that lined the pages. Many a scene and person had become victims to her quill-pen, both landscape and person alike filled the pages of her journal. Jarvan, Forsythe, Isaacs and even Shyvana graced the pages of her journal from their adventures and pursuits of Kampf. The spires and towers of Demacia filled many pages; the weeks she had spent shadowing the prince and the dragoness had left her with many a boring hour upon hour and Quinn had used the time to hone her skill. Quinn paused, looking at her most recent sketch of the prince, running her fingers along the parchment paper. _Jarvan…_ Quinn shook her head and then tossed her head back against the tree. _No. No pining. _Quinn closed her eyes and took a deep breath, tucking the journal back into her cloak. She pulled herself to her feet and took a deep breath. _Pull yourself together, Quinn. You've got a Job. Jarvan is counting on you. _Quinn smiled to herself, her confidence boosted and her mind focused on her task ahead.

Another blob of snow dropped on top of her head.

Quinn grimaced as she shook the snow off and looked up to the sky, glaring at the cool grey clouds above. _Caleb, if you're doing this just to test me, believe me, I've had more than enough already_. The snow started to fall around her, drifting down lightly; it wasn't much more than flurries at the moment. Quinn giggled, letting her head fall back as she burst in to a hearty laughter. "You win, Caleb." Quinn sighed as she tugged her hood back and shook the sweat out of her shoulder length hair, letting the sleek black locks fall into her face as she took a deep breath of the cool air, unencumbered by her scarf or hood. _You always were my better half, Caleb… If only you could see me now. I'm on a mission for the Prince of Demacia himself. I might not be a knight yet, but Val and I are so close to our dream that I can just feel it. _The silence the forest afforded her was eerie as she opened her eyes, looking back into the overcast sky. Had it not been for the trees, the horizon would have been lost amid the snow and clouds; where one ended and the other began was almost indeterminate. _It wasn't far from here that we parted way and I found Valor._

A distant screech pulled Quinn from her daydreaming and back to the issue at hand. She turned her attention to her meager gear, sniffing once before hardening her heart and steeling her mind. She slung her pack over her thigh, opening the bag and digging down to her food supplies of hard bread and dried meat. _Three days or so if I stretch it._ Quinn exhaled slowly, closing her pack and bedroll, tucking it back across her back. She put her hands on the small knife she carried on her waist and then the crossbow on her hip. The weapon felt light with so few bolts left. She pulled the weapon from her hip and cycled the wooden action back, the spring loaded cartridge pushing against her open palm. She carefully drew the first bolt from the weapon and examined them. _Only nine shots left. Luckily, I only need one for Lambert. Lend me your strength, Caleb. Just a little of your bravery would be great right about now._ Quinn pushed the bolts back into the weapon and cycled the bolt forward with her finger on the trigger, releasing the bowstring with a soft sigh. The limbs remained taunt till she depressed a button atop the risers, letting the curved wooden brackets fold up. She clipped the weapon into its folded position and hung it back upon her belt, taking a deep breath. _I gotta go now, Caleb. If you're out there, keep me covered, okay? _Quinn pulled her hood and scarf back on, tugging the wool garment tighter around her face, pulling her hood down over her eyes to hide the feeling of grief that panged in her heart. _Valor should be back any-…_

The eagle's screech cut through the eerie silence of the snow locked forest. The blue and grey bird descended from the canopy of the pine trees above, swooping down towards the tracker.

"Valor!" Quinn exclaimed happily, raising her gauntlet for the bird to land on. The eagle obliged and Quinn's smile only growing wider as the eagle's weight settled on her arm. He looked up at her and twisted his head about, hooting at her impatiently, flapping his wings. "You found his trail?" Quinn's heart soared as her grin grew toothy. "That's great, Valor! Lead the way!"

The bird's eyes sharpened as it spread its wings and took to the air with a screech, fighting the snow and gusts of wind for altitude before swirling back around, cutting past Quinn and delving deeper into the forest. The tracker set off in an awkward run, stumbling through the snow. Quinn struggled to keep up with the eagle as it wound through the trees, cutting through the air as if it were nothing.

_How easy life would be if I could fly…_ Quinn felt a pang of jealousy in her heart at the memories of Shyvana. She shook her head as she pushed through the snow, taking long, high strides over the banks. _If I were able to transform like her I wouldn't have to deal with this damnable snow! _Quinn bounced a fist off the side of her head. _Focus, Quinn. You have a job to do, and jealousy of that darned half-dragon isn't going to help anyone right now!_

Quinn felt her stomach turn as Valor suddenly cut left and looked back to screech at her. She landed one of her long strides, ducked, and rolled immediately, not even looking for what had startled the eagle. Her hood was ripped back and she felt the cool rush of steel just above her brow as she rolled, barely dodging a strike that had been aimed at her neck. She hit the ground harder than she had intended, spinning and sliding in the wet snow. A sword struck the tree she had just passed, shaking snow from the branches. Quinn looked to the ground as several strands of her black hair gently floated down to rest on the muddied, brown snow.

"You're a persistent little bitch, aren't you?" Lambert snarled. He braced his boot against the tree as he pried the sword free. His breathing was heavy as he raised the weapon between himself and the tracker, growling softly as Quinn pulled herself to her feet.

"I should say the same for you." Quinn snapped back, pulling her hood back down over her eyes. "Why don't you just eat a bolt and get it over with?"

"You're dumber than I thought if you expect me to just roll over and give up!" Lambert watched her cautiously, lowering his stance ever so slightly. "So, little girl, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to drag you in, whether you like it or not!" Quinn shouted. "Valor! Now, gouge his eyes out!"

Lambert snarled as the eagle dived on him, claws bore as he aimed for the Noxian's eyes. His hand disappeared inside his cloak for a brief moment as he slid away, raising his blade. "Fucking bird…" He snarled. Valor collided with the blade, his armored claws scratching at the blade. Something green and shiny appeared from within his black cloak and Quinn felt her stomach drop again.

_What is that?! _ Quinn's gut twisted itself into a knot as she watched the Noxian cock the hammer back on the weapon and begin to raise it. "Valor! Get clear!" The eagle's golden eyes turned to her for only a split second before he tucked his wings in and rolled away, diving towards the ground as Quinn started to charge forward, dropping her shoulder. Lambert raised the weapon and leveled it at the eagle as Valor darted away through the trees. The revolver cracked as the first round fired, exploding just behind the eagle, sending a geyser of ice and dirt into the air. Valor screeched as he rolled behind a tree just as the weapon cracked a second time. The base of the tree exploded as the bullet struck the roots. Lambert took two more quick shots, but both went wide as Valor soared upwards, fighting for distance and altitude. Quinn dived at Lambert but he swept backwards and landed a swift kick into Quinn's side.

"Of course it shoots straight now!" Lambert snarled as he knocked the cylinder out and ejected the shells. "Bloody piece of junk!" Green smoke drifted from the mouths of the shells as they hit the snow and sunk out of sight, sizzling through the hardened shell of ice and snow.

"You bastard!" Quinn stammered as she gasped for air and drifted away, a hand clutched to her side. Lambert was leveling his weapon, searching for a shot on Valor, but the eagle was too far away. Quinn struggled to stand up and raised her weapon at the Noxian, charging forward again so she wouldn't miss. Lambert's attention snapped back to her with a sneer as he started to raise his weapon. _Too slow! _Quinn leaped forward, aiming a boot for the man's chest. Lambert expelled a breath as he sunk back, grimacing as the blow knocked him backwards. Quinn raised the weapon at Lambert, but she blanked: Lambert was gone.

Quinn landed and immediately dove to the right as Lambert charged, the sword gleaming a bloody red in the dim grey light. The blade howled as it cut through the air, simmering as it hit snow. Quinn spun, sticking a leg out as she scrambled for purchase amid the slick snow, her hand fighting for a grip in the mud. She slapped the bow from the bottom, popping the limbs out as she ripped the action back, throwing herself to the side again as Lambert charged a second time, bringing his sword down over his head. He snarled as the sword struck the ground, sending a geyser of ice and mud into the air. He spat angrily as Quinn rolled to her feet and brought her crossbow up, leveling the weapon with Lambert's forehead.

_If I bring him in alive… _Quinn shook her head and pulled the trigger. _This is a fight for life or death! _Quinn fell backwards as the blade cleaved through the air just above her head. She caught herself with one hand as Lambert snarled like an animal, realizing his mistake: He had swung too hard and he wouldn't be able to bring his weapon about it time to protect himself.

Quinn indulged herself in a smile as she brought her bow back up. _You're mine now._ She pulled the trigger and loosed a bolt at near point-blank range.

The sharp cry of the metal bolt-head striking steel cut through the cold winter air like the mournful cry of a wounded animal. Lambert's blade hummed as he back away, keeping the sword held in front of him, a faint white swirl encircling him before sucking in around the blade, humming as it formed a shell just above the blade's surface. Quinn looked in disbelief at the arrow that was now sunk deep in the tree trunk beside the assassin. He wore an imperious smile as she straightened up, holding the blade in front of him, still raised in Quinn's direction. The tracker frowned as she cycled the bolt on her crossbow, putting another arrow into the track. _How did he dodge that? It shouldn't have been possible… _Quinn shook her head. _Eight rounds left._

"You seem confused, little girl." Lambert wore a vicious smile, starting to pace in a wide circle. "I told the prince the same thing: this weapon is no normal sword. This blade has been so drenched in blood that it thirsts for it… it craves blood." Lambert's sneer grew wild. "The thirst is so great that its malicious will protects me now that it has tasted blood! You can't hurt me. You can't even touch me."

Quinn frowned as she sunk low, her gaze set on the weapon. It hummed with a low, menacing tone and it glowed almost red in color. It had serrated teeth with a vicious, almost animalistic nature, like a wolf that hungered for blood. _How do you beat a weapon that responds of its own volition because it simply has so much malicious intent? _ Quinn sunk back, her frown growing deeper as she took a deep breath and looked around. She stood up straighter. _What? What's a deer doing here?_

The massive brown and black splotched animal reared its head up and looked back at her through the forest. It had massive antlers that rose up atop its head, twisted and gnarled by years of bucking heads and fighting with trees as it protected his herd. _So that's how it's going to be…_ Quinn hung her head and sighed softly. _Looks like I have to outsmart him. I'm not going to beat him in a straight up fight. So be it._

"What, giving up already?" Lambert growled, letting his blade slump in front of him, a moment of confusion showing on his face. "And here I was thinking you had some life left in you. What a pity."

Quinn let her head back and laughed aloud, a thin smile settling on her face as she pulled her hood back and lowered her crossbow, clipping it to her belt. She unclipped the bag on her shoulder and pulled out a length of rope before tucking it back along her back. She pulled out a rock half the side of her fist, knotting the rope around the stone before coiling the loose end of rope around her hand. Quinn closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as an easy smile slid onto her face. "No. I'm not giving up. I'm just doing something I saw someone I greatly admire do once in a seemingly hopeless situation."

"What, surrender, roll over, and die?" Lambert snarled, putting on a snarky smile to mask his confusion.

"This, you gigantic cunt." Quinn grinned viciously as she extended her middle finger to the sky and stuck out her fist, sticking out her tongue at Lambert as she spun and sprinted off. Quinn heard the faded echo of an enraged, anguished cry as she put as much distance could between them, leaving only the sound of her labored breathing in her ears for several moments as her heart raced. She leaped over the roots of a tree and skidded along the shallow slope, kicking her feet under herself and launching herself through the air. She whirled the rock above her head by a short length of the rope, sending it flying upwards into the branches of one of the trees. Quinn felt the rope tighten around her hand and nearly rip her arm from its socket, sending her up through the air. The only sound she could hear was the thunder of her heart in her ears and the heavy panting of her own breathing as she reach the apex of her swing. Quinn looked down and prayed that her plan was going to work as she grabbed her knife, sliced through the rope, and sent herself arcing through the air. She slammed her knife back into its sheath and braced herself.

Quinn slid onto the back of the massive buck, the animal yowling as it jumped and started violently, bouncing about as Quinn wrapped her arms around its neck and held on for dear life. The deer bucked and thrashed about for several seconds as Quinn screamed, barely holding on. She grabbed the buck's antlers and dragged it around, steering it towards the slope that lead away from the furious cries of Lambert as he struggled after her. The deer thundered down the slope as Quinn laughed aloud, cheering to herself as the deer bounded along effortlessly through the snow. Quinn giggled as she approached the bottom of the slope, looking back as Lambert as he slogged along, fumbling with his weapons, struggling to make his way down the slope without falling onto his face and crashing into a vulnerable mess. Quinn heard him snarl as she laughed aloud, kicking her heels into the deer's side. The beast roared and started to slide, shaking its head from side to side as it neared the bottom of the hillside.

"Woah!" Quinn shouted instinctively as the animal panicked. Quinn clenched her teeth as she looked for what could have panicked the animal and felt her stomach twist about. At the bottom of the hill, barbed wire had been stretched along the trees to form a makeshift fence. "Oh fuck." Quinn loosened her grip on the buck as it skidded the last few feet towards the wire, the animal's pained cry echoing through the forest. Quinn threw herself to the side as she felt the animal start to rise up underneath her, flipping up and over the heavy gauge metal wire, going end over end.

Quinn hit the ground and rolled through the snow as the ground shook underneath her. Her head bounced off a rock and pain shot through her mind as the world turned black around her.

Several long moments of pure darkness swallowed the tracker into a barren void before a heavy thud was followed by a face full of snow crashed over her, dragging her back to the mortal plane.

Quinn opened her eyes and saw stars.

_Am I dead?_

The pain came rushing back as her head throbbed, the sting and chill of the ice on her face finally bringing back the realization of what had happened to the young tracker. Quinn sat up and shook the snow from her face, her vision still filled with stars and red tinged her field of view as Quinn looked about, expecting to see Shyvana step forward, her crimson hair swirling about her in the still air. The tracker blinked a few times and tried to shake the disorientation off, running her arm across her brow. Her arm came away bloody, the sting of the cut above her eyebrow reminding her of the nasty fall she had taken, bringing the past few minutes rushing back.

_I busted my head open. This isn't good._ Quinn took a deep breath and she struggled to her feet; the world around her was unsteady, her vision swimming for several seconds.

Quinn froze as she looked down at the deer that had flipped end over end, ejecting her from its back before it had come crashing down onto the ground. The animal snorted weakly, sending out a great cloud of steam from its nostrils as it struggled against the wire that had tangled around its legs. The beast cried out as it tried to move itself forward. Quinn stepped closer and looked at the animal; it was twisted about a tree, its back was clearly broken.

_Poor thing. _Quinn grimaced as the deer groaned weakly, shivering violently before it dropped its head to the snow, one eye looking up and following Quinn as she slowly circled the beast. Blood stained the ground, melting snow and dripping from the animals' legs where the barbs had dug into its flesh. Quinn kneeled down and bowed her head, reaching out towards the animal. The deer thrashed violently as Quinn tried to touch its fur, braying in pain and anguish. Quinn jerked her hand back and blinked several times, casting blood about the snow. _I'm sorry for this, but you've given me an idea!_

It bucked and kicked, but its efforts to free itself only worsened the bindings and the pain, blood pouring from the deep gashes in its legs, twisting it about at an odd angle. The animal grunted as Quinn approached, eyeing a silver blade that Quinn had produced. Quinn frowned, she had killed to survive in the past, but this was something different; the beast was suffering due to her incompetence. She grimaced as she kneeled next to the deer and pulled out her water canteen, running her arm across her brow as blood poured down into her eye. She blinked away the rest and uncorked the bottle, turning the bottle upside down, emptying the contents into the snow against the tree.

"Sorry about this…" Quinn muttered as she took the knife and deepened one of the gashes on the deer's limb, making sure to cut through one of the veins that ran down the beast's thin, muscular legs. The animal shook its head in a violent shudder before it fell silent, watching Quinn work with large, shiny black eyes. The blood that poured from the wound steamed and stunk of undercooked venison and iron, melting the snow as it dripped. Quinn looked over her shoulder as she pressed the lip of her bottle again the deer's leg next to the gash, letting the flow of blood seep into her canteen. Quinn felt her stomach stir uncomfortably as the animal thrashed again restlessly before falling still. She waited till the beast had fallen completely still before she continued collecting blood.

The distant crunch of boots signaled that her time had run out. Quinn corked the bottle and then stood up, sawing at the steel wire with her knife, trying to slice the bindings that held the deer down. The animal looked up at her, remaining unmoving for several long seconds as she continued to hack at the wire. The deer thrashed violently, braying as Quinn stood and backed away, sheathing her knife.

"I'm sorry." Quinn bowed her head, spun and took off in another sprint, headed for the next rise. She leaped over the top and skidded down towards the base of the rise and the creek at the bottom. Quinn froze, already, slowing her breathing unconsciously. "Alright. Here is better than never." Quinn shivered as she looked at the icy burbling water. "This is really, really going to suck." Quinn opened the canteen and lifted it above her head, pouring the canteen of blood down the front of her body. She dropped to her knees, uncovering a rock from the ice. The tracker took a deep breath and let out a blood curdling scream, cutting herself off suddenly, dropping towards the ice, laying out flat on her stomach, one arm left in the icy river.

Quinn closed her eyes and continued to slow her breathing, struggling to calm her racing heart.

_Still heart, steady aim. Let's hope that works for this too!_

…

Quinn heard the heavy crunch of snow as a body dropped down the embankment sloppily, sliding and crashing down along the ice, snow and mud.

"Fuck… FUCK!" Lambert's snarls of anger sent Quinn's pulse racing. The tracker exhaled slowly, heavily, slowing her heart beat as much as possible. The deer's blood still stunk as is dribbled down her face, the rock her head was pressed against was ice cold, and water ran along her neck and arm. She suppressed the urge to shiver and exhaled and inhaled one last time, slowly, before rolling her eyes back into her head and freezing perfectly still where she lay. "Well isn't this just peachy." There was a mix of confidence and mirth in Lambert's voice as he looked over her body. His boots splashed and Quinn felt the splatter of water across her cheek as Lambert crashed through the water around to her front. "I don't even get to finish the persistent little bitch for myself. Of course." He shifted closer, and Quinn could feel the snow had stopped falling on her face. Quinn resisted the urge to scream or even flinch as pain shot through her head; Lambert lifted her up by the hair. He snarled out a sharp laughed.

_If only I had thought to grab my knife… _Quinn's lungs were starting to burn as she felt something warm press against her neck. Lambert held his fingers to her neck for a brief second before he grabbed her cheek and twisted her about to look down at her face.

"Bah, she was pretty too. I could have had some fun with this one."

Quinn suppressed the urge to gag at his comment before he shifted again. The sound of a knife getting drawn from a sheath caused her mind to blank. _If he guts me here to make sure I'm dead, I really will be! Caleb, help me… _The painfully sharp cry of an angered eagle descending from on high sent shivers through Quinn's chest as Lambert dropped her back into the creek. _Valor? Valor, you glorious bastard!_

"Not the fucking bird again!" The sounds of splashing steps covered most of his cursing as he stumbled away. Quinn's chest burned like she had inhaled fire, but the sharp peck of something on her head caused her to flinch.

Valor squawked at her before pecking two more times. She remained frozen for a few seconds longer till she couldn't hold her breath any longer. Quinn sucked in a breath, supplying immediate relief to her burning chest. Quinn inhaled deeply as she pushed herself up, coughing raggedly and sucking in sharp breaths over and over.

_"I thought I was going to die!"_ Quinn hissed as she held a hand over her throat. She shook her head, trying to clear the pounding in her head before she looked up at the golden eyed bird that danced about on her shoulder, trying to stay upright as she twisted about into a sitting position. Valor squawked and panicked as Quinn reached out and grabbed him, his wings flapping wildly as Quinn hugged him tight, squeezing a pained honk from his beak. "Valor, I love you so much! You saved me again!"

Valor squeaked weakly as Quinn hugged him again, before blushing and releasing him. Valor bounced away, giving her a derisive squawk as he flipped about and struck her shoulder with a wing as he shook his tail feathers, straightening his plumage. He squawked a few times, pointing up the slope with his wing, snapping his beak at Quinn.

"I know we need to go after him." Quinn grunted, pulling herself up to her feet, shivering as water ran down her body. "But I don't fancy chasing after him in the cold. I'm soaked to the bone." Quinn ran her hands over her body, checking all her equipment was in place. "I can't beat him right now, and short of an ambush, I don't think I can do anything but keep following him." Valor hooted softly twice, getting Quinn to look up from the snowy ground before slapping her with a wing, sending out a harsh, derisive squawk that sent shivers through the tracker's chest.

"Give up?" Quinn muttered, shaking the water out of her hair and pulling off her cloak. She rolled it up in front of her and twisted it into a roll, wringing what water she could from the garment before returning it to her shoulders, shivering. "Hardly. But I can't do this by myself."

Valor squawked again, spitting her with a harsh, golden eyes glare.

"I know you know which way he's heading, but what good does that do me?" Quinn grabbed a scrawny tree, tugging herself up the sharp slope up after the Noxian's tracks. She stuck her head up above the edge of the rise, and satisfied the area had cleared, she hauled herself up before collapsing into the snow. "I'm exhausted, Valor. I'm in no position to fight."

Valor squawked, annoyance causing the bird to fidget with his wings.

"Another person is approaching?" Quinn frowned. "Demacians?"

Valor hooted a no before hopping forward along the snow, flaring his wings, gesturing that Quinn follow.

"Interesting…" Quinn said, hauling herself to her feet, brushing snow from her body. "Can you take me to the point where they're going to meet?"

Valor squawked excitedly, hopping forward. Quinn shucked her soaked jacket, and discarded her water logged bed roll. She shivered in the air, but tightened her belt and the strapped on her armor before taking a deep breath.

"This is going to be close, isn't it?" Quinn mused to herself as Valor took to the air, circling about before descending down to swoop over Quinn's shoulder. "You're right, Val. Let's move!"

* * *

Quinn settled into the crook on the tree, lowering herself down as pulling her cloak around herself, shivering against the cold air. The ragged woolen cloak was splattered with mud and ice, and the tracker had managed to pick up a multitude of twigs and sticks in the frayed lengths of the garment. She leaned back against the tree and pulled the hood down low over her face, slowing her breath. Quinn took deep, slow breaths, though her heart thundered in her ear drums. She had always had a knack for camouflage, but it never failed to get her excited while she waited for her prey to approach. The snow that was falling may have hurt her ability to see into the distance, but it only amplified her hiding spot, blending her into the gnarled tree as if she were simply another knot amid the branches.

The sound of boots crunching in snow echoed through the empty wilderness, snow silently falling.

Quinn's pulse quickened, the sound of her heart beating was thundering in her ears like war drums.

"Fucking Demacia… fucking snow…" The voice belonged to her target, Lambert. The man crunched to a stop somewhere beneath what little shelter the arms of the tree offered, out of Quinn's limited field of vision. Luckily, he was loud enough that the tracker had no issues hearing him through the wilderness. "I'm finally home free and now I'm stuck waiting for that crazy bi-…"

"You might wish to watch your tongue, Lambert."

Quinn frowned, this was a new voice. The tone was liquid and seductive, pouring in one ear like liquid gold before it ripped your heart out. It was painfully evocative, and it Quinn had to suppress a shiver at the thought of what that voice could get men to do. Quinn cleared her mind and focused back on the voices below.

"You may have eluded your pursuer, but do not think that your voice does not carry in the perfect silence of this snowfall."

"O-of course, Mistress Emilia." The man shivered as he spoke, though he dropped his voice down to a low tone. His voice was deep and hushed, but he did not whisper because he didn't want the sounds to carry any further. "I let my judgment slip because I killed the young tracker who was following me. She was not Demacian Military, but she was definitely in the service of the prince."

"A tracker you say?" The voice purred with curiosity. "I remember seeing reports of a fourth individual who was in company of the prince when he slew the dragon outside Askay. There were the two soldiers, and then there was the half-dragon, but the fourth was a mystery even to Swain's spies. She hasn't shown up in Demacia either from the reports of my spies, but it is of no matter." There was a short sigh. "If she died at your hand, she is no concern of mine now."

_Spies? In Demacia? _ Quinn's stomach flip flopped at the thought, but the confirmation of Lambert's thoughts that she was dead was enough to quell her stomach's feeble attempts at nausea.

"Of course, my mistress." Lambert exhaled slowly. "Is your spy safe? Word is that Demacia recently ousted a spy, though I was uncertain if it was the escaped general or one of your own…"

_General? _Quinn frowned. _What general escaped? Could they be talking of Lorcan or Jormander?_

"All of my pawns are still in play right now." The female voice mused softly. "But it would seem that the General _was_ ousted from his hiding spot within Demacia, but it is of little relevance now. Our plans are well enough underway that it is of no matter. Anything he has to offer Demacia will be met with doubt and distrust."

"Very well mistress." There was a momentary pause in the conversation that Quinn could only assume was Lambert bowing. "I must ask, were there any complications with your obtaining the prince's blood?"

"Tch." There was a momentary sound of annoyance from the female voice. "So you knew about that? No one was supposed to know about that." The enticing tones and welcoming manner was instantly gone from the female voice, replaced with icy precision and tinged with annoyance.

_Something's changed._ Quinn took a slow breath, her pulse rising again. Something was going to happen, she could sense the malevolence settling in the air.

"Ma'am?" There was confusion in Lambert's voice. "General Swain told me…"

_Swain too!? What's going on?_

The female voice let an agonizingly sharp cackle escape before she was able to reign the laughter into a deep chuckle. "I see. Well played, Swain. You win this round."

"Ma'am? What are you…" The sound of a boot crunching in snow echoed upwards, and Quinn could only guess about what was coming.

_This isn't a meeting. This is an execution._

"My apologies." The female voice was still cold, but it now carried a mocking sense of superiority to it that sent chills down Quinn's spine. "I didn't think things would end like this, but with the Demacian forces closing in, I need to leave them something to find. I can't have them searching for a leak or another spy if you don't manage to escape. Enjoy the afterlife. You have served Noxus well."

"Wait! Ma'am!" The voice had grown desperate as the thunderous crunch of flailing footsteps in snow could be heard.

"Valor!" Quinn hissed. "Don't let him out of your sight!" The bird spread its wings and dropped from its perch high in the bare branches of the tree, screeching as he extended his claws.

"What!?" The female voice snarled.

"Fuck!" Lambert took the moment of surprise to turn and run, putting as much distance between himself and the Noxian named Emilia as he could. "Thanks for the save you fine, feathered fuck!"

"Lambert!" The female voice shouted. "I'll see you dead!"

"Fuck you!" Lambert cried as he disappeared into the forest.

_That was way too close. _Quinn shook the snow off as she pulled herself from her hiding spot. She looked down, just in time to see a woman clad in a dark cloak fade into nothingness, a crooked staff clutched in one hand. Quinn slid out of the tree and down one branch, pausing to look down about the forest. Tracks led off to the southeast, heavy, careless footprints marking which direction Lambert had fled. The tracker looked back down to the ground below her and her frown deepened. _No tracks other than Lambert's? Where did the woman's go?_ Quinn frowned as she dropped the rest of the way to the ground. She landed on her feet and started to absorb the shock into her body, but one of her legs had fallen asleep and crumpled underneath her.

Quinn ended up on her face in the snow, grumbling. "Of all the mistakes I could have made, I end up face down in the snow…"

The quiet footsteps approaching in the snow sent ice through Quinn's veins. She slid to her feet and her hand shot to her hip, but she refrained from drawing her weapon. She shivered as she pressed herself up against the tree.

"They got away again, didn't they?" The voice was deep and guttural, anger lacing the gravelly tones.

"Apologies, colonel." A younger voice said softly. "It appears something tipped them off just as we were closing in."

"Blast and damnation." The deep voice growled. "Send word to the king that we are continuing to pursue Talon. Have units on horseback try and circle about and close the net. I refuse to let this bastard escape after what he did to the prince."

_Talon? Prince?_ A smile blossomed from the confused frown on Quinn's face. _Demacian forces!_

"Excuse me?" Quinn stepped out from behind the tree, her hands raised away from her body as she approached the two figures clad in snow white cloaks. The first only turned his head, but the second thinner of the two turned, his hand jumping to his waist, producing a matte black combat knife.

"Don't move!" The younger voice hissed. "Throw down your weapon or you will be shot dead where you stand."

"Hold on…" Quinn said uneasily, keeping her hands raised as she glanced around. "We're in this together."

"Easy Lieutenant." The older voice growled tiredly. The man pulled his hood back and tugged his scarf down, pulling two fingers to his lips and whistling sharply. The sound of bows being let off could be heard from every direction, and Quinn felt her stomach tighten into a knot. The officer looked her up and down as he took several steps forward, circling her predatorily. "A tracker of some sort judging by your gear."

_There were that many of them?_ Quinn craned her neck; she couldn't see another soul other than the two before her, but she had counted at least eleven other bows.

"Who are you?" The officer growled, his hand hovering near his hip.

Quinn opened her mouth to speak, but slammed it shut, glaring at the soldiers. "You first."

The older man's eyes darkened noticeably. "Colonel Horrace Jerome of the First Demacian Scouting Battalion." His voice was just tinged with annoyance. "And I'm just going to assume you're the blithering idiot who spooked our mark?" The man growled, glaring at Quinn. The skin around his eyes had been darkened with something dark, matte, and oily where his face wasn't hidden by the hood or scarf. He paused, looking her up and down before sighing. "You're shivering and soaking wet. If you're planning on trying to track someone when it's snowing out, I suggest you don't get soaked before doing so."

"I took a swim while I was tracking them, smartass." Quinn growled, frowning as she shivered. The younger soldier shifted forward, growling, but the officer held up a hand, an aggressive smile flashing on his face before he cleared his expression.

"How about you explain what exactly you're doing out here, little girl, before I throw you into the stockades and lose the damned key?" The colonel growled. Quinn could see the markings on his collar now.

"Go get the prince and he'll straighten everything out." Quinn said, smiling. "I'm on assignment for him right now, and as far as I can tell, _you're_ the one who spooked _my_ mark."

Colonel Jerome narrowed his eyes, a frown deepening the creases in his face. "Prince Jarvan IV was rushed to the hospital by his pet dragon." There was annoyance in his voice. "Last I heard, one Demacian was dead in addition to three of my own scouts, and there were some twenty some unmarked soldiers found dead, and every single one of the remaining Demacians are fighting for their lives in the hospital. Far as I know, thanks to whoever did that, we might not _have_ a prince anymore, and here you are covered in water, blood and dirt. In my book, that makes you a likely guilty party." There was quiet menace in his voice. "So I ask you again, _girl: Who are you?"_

_Jarvan… dead?_

Quinn shivered in her boots.

_He can't be… Jarvan can't be dead!_


	2. Part II

"Let me see your orders." Quinn growled, frowning up at the Scout Colonel. "I've got friends in high places!"

Jerome crossed his arms over his chest as he glared down at her, a deep frown settling on his face. "You've been stripped of your weapons and shackled to a tree, do I really need to bind your mouth too? Cause I will if you don't shove it." He glared down at Quinn, defiance gleaming in her brilliant golden eyes. He sighed, tiredly. "Tell me why I should?" Jerome's frown darkened as he turned back and started pacing in the opposite direction. "For all I know you're in league with the Blade's Shadow. Why should I believe you? I don't know _you_."

"Dammit, I told you, I'm not a threat!" Quinn pleaded, tugging against the shackles that bound her to the tree. "I served with Prince Jarvan before he returned to the city! He can vouch for me! All you have to do is-..."

"The only person who can prove that is Prince Jarvan, right?" Jerome turned on her, frustration starting to build in his voice. "Very well. I leave you with a choice: you either die here as an enemy sympathizer or shut the hell up and I leave you here. When we're done, we'll come back and drag you back to the stockades after we capture this bastard. Then maybe the prince can confirm your identity."

"I keep trying to tell you!" Quinn got a leg under herself at an awkward angle and tried to stand but the guard posted next to her planted a hand on her shoulder and firmly pressed her back to the ground. Quinn bit at the hand on her shoulder, the man reeling back as she nipped his finger. He snarled in surprise and anger and raised a hand up to strike her.

"Enough!" Jerome snapped at the soldier, freezing the scout with a scowl on his face. He sulked away to lean against a tree, drawing a knife and a sharpening stone from his cloak. There were several moments of silence before the scouts started for weapons, only to stop after a brief moment.

A soldier dropped from a tree, his breathing heavy as he drew himself up from his knees. He saluted with a fist across his chest before glancing down at Quinn. "A message from the palace, sir." Jerome posted his fists on his hips expectantly, but the messenger looked down at Quinn, frowning slightly.

Jerome glanced at her and then sighed. "Go ahead, she won't be telling anyone."

"Very well, sir." The scout said hesitantly, his gaze lingering on the sullen Quinn for several moments before turning back to the Colonel. "Military Police are on their way to take custody of the young woman. In addition, Captain Crownguard is deploying his forces to our position before making for the north, as per the king's orders. In addition, the Captain wishes to interview the woman before the MPs take custody of her."

Jerome sighed, shaking his head but relented and shrugged. "It looks like we have no choice at this point. The dauntless Vanguard is involved. This matter is out of my hands."

"You're making a mistake by holding me here." Quinn said, frowning. "I can capture that bastard, Lambert! Just let me go!"

"Quit your fussing, girl." Jerome said, shaking his head again. "As I said: my hands are tied. And let me make a suggestion: knowing the assassin's name? That doesn't exactly help your case. It only hurts it. So shut your yap."

"Damnit." Quinn snarled, forcing herself to take a deep breath to calm down.

"Sir, there is one more thing." The messenger looked hesitant, but he continued before Jerome could voice his complaints. "An officer from the Royal Guard is accompanying the Military Police. I don't know why, though. I was told to pass on the information."

"Is it one of Jarvan's men?" Quinn said expectantly. "If you talk with Shyvana or the prince's Sergeant Major…"

"You, girl, remain silent." Jerome's frown darkened, his voice testy as he sighed heavily. "What interest does the Royal Guard have with us? This is out of their jurisdiction now." He kneeled down in front of Quinn, looking deep into her eyes, as if he was searching her expression for conviction. "Just who are you that could cause this much interest?"

"I told you before: I am—was—a tracker hired by Prince Jarvan to track the dragon quarry he was perusing just before he returned to Demacia." Quinn sighed tiredly, shaking her head. "My mother and father own a small farm to the east of here! I'm a Demacian, just like you."

"You're just a farmer's daughter at best." The messenger sneered. "You've probably never even seen the spires of Demacia."

"Hey, jackass, do me a favor and shove your head back up your ass where it belongs." Quinn sneered. "I can smell the stench from here."

Jerome snorted. "You've got some fight in you, I like that." He sighed again, sitting down. "It's unfortunate, but as I said: With no word on the prince and the Dauntless Vanguard involved, my hand has already been forced. There's nothing I can do."

Quinn sighed, her shoulders sinking. "I know, I'm just… frustrated."

The ground began to thunder underfoot as a company of horses pounded past. The rolling thunder slowed to a halt somewhere behind Quinn and there was a noticeable shift in the mood of the Scouting Company run by Colonel Jerome as the rattle of armor and the thud of boots interrupted the heavy stamping of angered, impatient horses.

"This hardly seems regular, Captain." The first voice was officious and stiff as it faded into earshot, and Quinn could hear the discomfort in the voice. "Why is a sergeant major attached to the Prince's staff here with us right now?"

"I don't know, Tunis." The second voice sounded annoyed, but there was no anger in it. "I'm just following orders right now."

"I am acting in the prince's stead, under the king's orders and in Lady Shyvana's confidence." There was annoyance in the third voice, as if it were tired of being accosted. There was a scuffle as the sound of armor on armor silenced the crunch of boot in the snow. Quinn tried to look around the tree, but she couldn't twist around enough to see who was speaking.

"_Lady Shyvana?_" Anger had taken hold of the first man's voice. "She's a damned dragon, man! She'd as soon devour us as she would help us! Get a hold of yourself and think for a moment! If you listen to her, you'll likely only hurt Demacia and her people."

"Tunis, control yourself." The second voice growled. "But he has a point. I want to know why exactly you're operating under her orders."

"Captain, first of all, you may be a Captain in the Royal Guard, but you do not command me. As such, your lieutenant has no business berating me, much less assaulting me." The third voice was far more controlled than the previous two, though there was a decidedly cold menacing in his words. "Secondly, I report only to the Prince or the King himself. Unless you have orders that countermand mine, I would suggest you release me so I may carry mine out."

"Sergeant Major Perrywinkle, you're making a mistake, I'm telling you." The first voice was angry, but there was another clank of metal and the steps in the snow resumed.

_Perrywinkle!_ Quinn felt a smile grow on her face. _Jarvan's Sergeant Major? Perhaps he's come to release me!_

"Hail, Colonel." The third voice was just to the side of Quinn now. She turned and a smile broke over her face as Jarvan's Sergeant Major stepped into view and saluted proudly as he pulled his helmet from his head. He tucked it under one arm and then looked down to Quinn. He nodded once, and Quinn felt a smug smile slide onto her face as she sat back.

"Sergeant Major." The colonel responded stiffly. "I take it you have orders of your own to pass on?"

"Yes, colonel." The sergeant major, jerked his head at Quinn. "You're to release this young woman into my custody. The orders come straight from the king himself."

"Sergeant Major, you don't have the authority to release her." Garen said stiffly, frowning, waving at the sergeant major. "The MPs already have orders to take her into custody. No matter who you derive your authority from, you can't override their orders."

"It's not my authority with which I release her." Sergeant Major Perrywinkle said firmly, looking at the Crownguard Captain. Few men could manage to be as imposing as the broad Demacian Captain, but what the older man lacked in physical prowess and imposing stature, he more than made for with quiet menace. The sergeant major, his arm still in a sling and bandages around his forehead was able to stare directly at Garen without so much as a wince in his expression. "She has her orders from the prince himself." There was anger in the sergeant majors voice. "I've met and worked with this young woman before, and I'm asking you to release her before I have to go above your head again, Captain."

"Protocol states she is to be apprehended, detained, and investigated before she can be released." Garen reached out to poke the disobedient sergeant major in the chest to drive his point home, but Perrywinkle merely furrowed his brow and the captain took half a step back, his finger still hovering in the air between them. "Unless you can put papers in my hand that supersede that protocol, I'm taking her into custody, with or without your permission, _sergeant_."

"It's Sergeant _Major_." Perrywinkle growled with very real menace, digging into his cloak and producing a piece of folded paper. He extended it to the Captain, his face impossibly hard. "Your papers, _captain. _You are to release this woman, by orders of the king." Garen shriveled his nose up as he grabbed the papers from the Sergeant Major grasp and opened it. His eyes danced across the paper before he grimaced and sneered. "The seal is official, captain, you can compare it with the orders that Colonel Jerome has in his possession if you so wish."

"This can't be real." Tunis snarled, throwing his hands into the air. Two MPs had arrived on horses, manacles and riot control pikes in hand as they eyed the young woman shackled to the tree. "Welp, pack it up boys, looks like you're not needed. Sorry you had to come all the way out here just to get blue ba-..."

"Keep it up, Lieutenant." Colonel Jerome growled. "Those MPs will end up escorting you home."

"Try it, old man." Tunis snarled. "We in the Dauntless Vanguard don't know fear. We are not like you scouts who prefer to creep about in the shadows and deal in words and dishonorable death. Your words are useless against me."

"Tunis, now you threaten to tread on my honor with your words." Garen growled, shaking his head. The dark haired lieutenant shot him an angry glare but stood back and glower."Fine, do as you wish with here, Sergeant Major."

"Please, Colonel, remove her shackles." The Sergeant Major said sternly, a hint of exhaustion sneaking into his voice. Jerome nodded, gesturing one of his men forward. The scout looked hesitant but complied stepping forward and kneeling to remove the shackles from her wrists.

Finally free of her bindings, Quinn massaged her wrists as she got to her feet. "Finally." She muttered, shaking her head. She turned to the Sergeant Major and smiled. "Thank you, Sergeant Major. I appreciate the save."

"Thank Prince Jarvan." The sergeant Major growled, shaking his head. "It was the last order he gave me before Shyvana returned him to the Palace for medical treatment." Captain Crownguard grimaced at the mention of the dragoness, flipping his hair aside dismissively.

"Is he well?" Quinn said, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she watched the Demacia Captain get overruled. _Jarvan really thought of everything, didn't he? _Quinn's smile grew. _I'm not sure what I expected… but it definitely wasn't this._

"I don't know, to be honest." The sergeant major said, wincing as he adjusted his sling and straightened his cloak where he had produced the papers he had given to Captain Crownguard. "He had lost a lot of blood, and while it was doubtful that the medics would have been able to save him, they managed to stabilize him just long enough for Shyvana to rush him to the hospital."

"Thank the gods." Quinn muttered with a deep breath.

"Gods? Not even." The sergeant major grumbled as he shook his head. "Thank Shyvana, next chance you get. Without her, the prince would most definitely be dead."

"Call it what you want." Quinn shrugged. "For her arrival to have been that perfectly timed…"

"That's just damn good people." The sergeant major said as he exhaled sharply. "I took a bolt in the shoulder, and Delancey carried the news to Shyvana and the king in time. That's what happens when officers care about their people and soldiers respect their officers."

Quinn nodded and smiled. "And the others? I heard someone died…"

"The blacksmith, Steelsword." The sergeant major said, nodding solemnly. "He was dead before he hit the ground. Forsythe and Delancey are both badly wounded, but they should both live without serious permanent damage. As to be expected, the Prince was the worst off of all of us."

Quinn laughed lightly and nodded. "Sounds like Jarvan."

"So you really are a friend of the Princes…" Jerome said softly, the disbelief coloring his voice as he crossed his arms and smirked. "My apologies. I've always prefered to tread on the side of caution. I'm sure you understand."

"I tried to tell you but noooo..." Quinn smiled, removing the edge from the teasing tone in her voice. "However, I do understand, Colonel. Can I see the orders now?"

Jerome glanced over at the sergeant major and shrugged. "No further issues on my end, girl." He passed the parchment across to her.

"I have a name you know." Quinn said, eyeing him as she unfolded the paper. "It's Quinn."

"Very well, Quinn." The colonel said, giving her a ragged grin. "What are you going to do now?"

Quinn was silent as he eyes jumped over the dispatch from the king.

_Wanted for crimes against Demacian Justice: Talon, the Blade's Shadow. Top Priority. Four men are dead, victims of Noxian treachery. Attempted strike against the king himself! You duty: track and execute the guilty. Target headed toward Golden Crossing. All units within region called to defend board immeadiately. In the King's name: His Majesty, King Jarvan III._

Quinn looked up from the paper, frowning, her brow furrowing as she played read the message a second time, ensuring she had read all of this correctly.

"Something the matter, Quinn?" Jerome said, raising an eyebrow.

"This message, that's what." Quinn said shaking her head. "The man I was tracking was named Lambert. It wasn't Talon who perpetrated this attack, he works alone of with Katarina Du Couteau exclusively. This wasn't his style, this many men is far too sloppy for his tastes. Besides, Talon wouldn't attack the King; that would only raise the alarm and make it harder to escape. He's smarter than that." She shriveled up her nose. "When did he have time to make an attempt on the king's life? I've been tracking him since his fight with Jarvan."

Captain Crownguard's brow darkened as she used the Prince's name with such familiarity. "_Prince_ Jarvan is the King's only son. An attack on the Prince is the same as directly attacking the King himself. It is a matter of honor and posterity at this point."

"That seems might presumptuous…" Quinn muttered, shaking her head as she read the letter a third time. "And why Golden Crossing? That's directly north of here. Lambert is headed south east…"

"Golden Crossing is the only deep water ford to cross the bordering Serpentine River for hundreds of miles." Garen said, crossing his arms over his chest. "If Talon wishes to escape to the wilds of the Freljord, that's his quickest route. With the tribes still disputing the land, he'll be free to go if he reaches the border. Half my company rides there at once to secure the crossing now."

"It's a waste of time." Quinn shook her head as she folded up the dispatch and tucked it inside her journal, stuffing the entire thing back inside her coat.

"What was that?" Garen growled, his tone menacing. "Dare you repeat yourself, commoner?"

"You're wasting your time if you head to Golden Crossing!" Quinn spat back vehemently. "The Freljord is as hostile to intruders as it is easy to get lost in. It offers no refuge to those looking to escape Demacia's borders, and you're a fool if you think that this Noxian, whoever he is, is trying to escape through the Freljord. He won't try to cross the marshes of Kaladoun either, this is the only time of year they're more treacherous than normal. The ice is weakening with the warming temperatures and the snow masks all the horrors that are normally contained in the marshes."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Tunis sneered. "Surely you know better than us…"

"Enough, Tunis!" Garen snarled, glaring at the lieutenant. "Another outburst, and I will drag you back to the stockades myself, alright?" Garrier was defiant for a moment but he grunted and stormed away to tend to their horses. "Please, Miss Quinn, pardon my lieutenant's rudeness. This is highly irregular."

"Scouting in the wild is rarely regular, captain." Jerome chuckled silently, an amused smile following the lieutenant as he left.

Quinn pulled a map from her cloak; the heavy parchment was damp, but the map was intact and readable. Quinn spread it out on a crate after swiping the snow aside with her arm, holding it open as she scanned the area, her finger tracking across the locations that bordered Demacia. Her finger finally landed on the small village of Kalamanda.

"I suggest you head southeast towards Kalamanda." Quinn said, looking up at the Demacian Captain, doing her best to keep her tone even and her temper under control. "Short of running to the Demilitarized Zone at the Institute, that's definitely his best bet. He can move swiftly and still stay out of sight if he follows the east road, but remains within the forest. The trees and thick undergrowth will give him cover but not impede him any more than the regular snow." She traced her finger upwards to the twisting path that had been marked by a dotted line, picking its way through the Serpentine River delta between the Marshes of Kaladoun and the Howling Marsh to the north. "He _could_ attempt to cross here, but I assume you've already assigned units to protect this path?" Garen opened his mouth and then shut it again, simply nodding. "It's much harder to follow this path safely due to the marshes. Deploy a few platoons of Scouts to monitor the outlying areas around the road and you should be able to completely cut him off to the north."

Jerome exhaled sharply, a smile playing over his lips, a twinkle in his eye. "I'm impressed, young lady, you seem well informed and far more capable than I originally guessed."

"You know it." Quinn said, grinning. "I grew up exploring and playing in these lands. I know the terrain well." She stood up and turned towards the perturbed Crownguard. "I suggest you move your troops along the east road and deploy checkpoints at even intervals with regular patrols at least five miles into the wilderness in either direction. With you and the Colonel's support we should be able to convince the king to rescind his dispatch and revise it. Lambert won't last more than another day if you ask me."

The captain was visibly nonplussed by Quinn's analysis. He grunted, shaking his head. "There are more than enough Noxain sympathizers with the Winter's Claw tribe of the Freljord to warrant his passage to the North. I'm sorry, but I can't rescind the king's orders. The dispatch stands, and I'm taking my troops north, girl. Colonel Jerome can do what he wants with his troops, but I have no men to spare from the Dauntless Vanguard." Garen spun and signaled his lieutenant, the dark skinned officer saluting promptly to Colonel Jerome before sneering at Quinn and falling in beside his captain. "Tunis, gather the men. We make for Golden Crossing at once."

"Yes, captain." The lieutenant took off at a run to rouse his men.

"Blasted fool." Quinn muttered under her breath. "Why won't you listen to reason?" Quinn grimaced after the captain, sighing, her shoulders sinking as she looked to Jerome. The older Colonel shrugged and offered her a consoling smile as he raised a hand over his head and circled it like a halo, whistling sharply. Several scouts appeared as if they had simply risen from the snow, drawing back hoods. Quinn looked around the group, her heart beat spiking with excitement as the scout officers closed around the group.

"Ignore him, young lady." Sergeant Major Perrywinkle said, shaking his head. "Garen has only broken orders once in his career: to save the prince. I imagine that when Jarvan left Demacia, Captain Crownguard blamed himself for bring dishonor to the prince." The sergeant major sighed and shook his head sadly. "He'll come around eventually."

"Thanks." Quinn said softly, watching as Garen disappeared in the distance.

"For now, I take my leave." The sergeant major said, saluting Quinn and then saluting the colonel. "I must return to my duties with the prince and Lady Shyvana at once."

"Of course, Sergeant Major." Colonel Jerome said, nodding. "Ride well, and travel swiftly."

"And you, Colonel." The sergeant major saluted again, heading away. He paused, turning back to face the tracker. "I don't know you well enough to speak for myself, but I think if Jarvan were here, he'd tell you to trust your instincts." Quinn nodded, absent mindedly. "Good luck, Quinn." He disappeared from the camp almost as swiftly as he had appeared, leaving Quinn speechless, her gaze following after him.

"For what it's worth, I think your analysis is spot on and damned brilliant." Jerome gestured to the map, tapping the spindly path that lead through the marshes. "While I can only spare so many men, I'll send a squad to our outpost there, and orders for the captain of the garrison to deploy his men along the road. There will be gaps, but it should stand up to this Lambert's attempts to evade our dragnet. At the very least, it'll dissuade him from the route."

"Thank you, sir." Quinn said, blushing slightly at his compliment.

"I'll send a messenger back to the king and see if he'll amend his dispatch, but I'm not sure it's worth it. A Noxian is a Noxian as far as the army is concerned." Jerome paused, frowning slightly. "I might be able to convince someone to dispatch some troops to the east road as well, but I doubt we'll be able to move anywhere near enough troops to cover the road as well as you suggested." He frowned, tapping the last small village before the border and Kalamanda beyond. "I know the captain of the garrison in this village… a man by the name of Kurfrey or something like that. I'll see if he can deploy some of his men to the road and dispatch patrols in his area. Nero, take your squad north to the Marshes and reinforce the Company there." Jerome scribbled a few words out onto a small sheaf of paper. He pulled out a stick of wax and gestured to another officer. "Helena, if you please?"

The one woman among the officers nodded, stepping forward and bowing her head. A few words of a magic incantation were uttered and flame danced to life in her cupped palms. "Here, sir."

"Thank you." Jerome said, letting the wax melt for a brief second before pressing it onto the paper. He turned the stick over and pressing his officer's seal into the wax. He held it for a second as the wax cooled rapidly in the frigid air. He handed the orders off the masked officer named Nero. Jerome bent over his paper and scrawled another brief message out. He took his time with the third message, writing more in a longer form before sealing the two. "Helena, have one of your men take this to the garrison in Prath, and deploy from there. Take horses down the east road and make set up your base of operation there. Telvey, sent a courier with this message to the Palace and see that it gets to the king, and if the prince is able, see that he knows about it. He might be able to sway the king's mind. Go with Helena to Prath down the east road, but deploy your forces along the way and sweep north as best you can."

"Very well, colonel." The two officers saluted, turning away to issue their orders.

"Hold a second." Jerome said, stopping the officers in their tracks as he turned to Quinn. "I can see the cogs turning in your brain, girl. Speak your mind."

"That should work…" Quinn said, frowning.

"You have another idea?" Jerome said, crossing his arms.

"Since when did you listen to me?" Quinn said with a grin as she glanced up from the map.

"Since you were the only person making any damned sense." Jerome grunted. "I'm all ears right now, Quinn. Any other ideas?"

"Well…" Quinn paused, frowning, looking up towards the sky, orienting her map as best she could based off the vague tinges of color in the clouds, doing her best to guess where the sun was.

"Here, this might make it a little easier." Jerome said with a grin, handing over a compass he had produced from a pouch on his belt.

"Perfect." Quinn said, accepting the compass. She set it atop the map's rough compass rose, orienting the map in the right direction.

"I'm impressed, you weren't far off." Jerome remarked subtly, again, a thin grin playing over his lips. "Where'd you learn that?"

"It comes from years of experience mostly." Quinn said with a smirk. "Something Val taught me to look for, too." She looked up towards the sky, frowning slightly before turning back to the map. She produced a crude pencil and used the edge of the compass as a ruler to sketch out a rough path. "If this was Lambert's last heading…" Quinn frowned. "There's nothing out here but rock formations, pine trees and rolling hills."

"Till you reach the marshes, yes." Jerome said, nodding. He paused, his finger tapping the map near the edges of the swap, a frown playing over his face. "He could try to follow the edge of the marshes to the south…"

"That's probably his only choice." Quinn said nodding slowly. "He's managed to avoid capture this far, so he's obviously competent. If you're able to box off the trail through the marshes and deploy forces along the east road, he'll have no other choice." The tracker indulged herself in a broad smile. "The rocks that close up to the marshes there will give Val and I the perfect position to take him down. Worst comes to worst, we flush 'em out and you close the trap, colonel."

"Very good." The colonel mused, nodding his head. "I only have one question: who is this Val you speak of? I only know one man by that name, and he died several months back…"

"Wait… you knew Valin Isaacs?" Quinn said, surprise clear on her face. The colonel's smile spread slightly before falling into a sullen mask. "I did, yes. We were in the same class at the Academy. When I heard he had died…"

"He died saving the prince, locked in battle with the fiercest dragon north of Mogron Pass." Quinn said solemnly. There was relief in the Colonel's face, a soft smile playing over his lips.

"I see." Jerome said, nodding his head. "Thank you. So if not him, then who…"

"My gauntlet if you please?" Quinn said, looking over to the scout that had restrained and shackled her to the tree before. The soldier looked to Jerome who nodded. The soldier pulled the gauntlet from from the small pile of her gear and tossed it to the tracker. She plucked it from the air and strapped it to her forearm.

"A hawk?" One of the officer murmured curiously. Quinn pressed a finger to her lips and listened for a distant screech, her smile growing when the sound she craved echoed off in the distance.

"Valor!" Quinn shouted to the sky. "To me!"

Silence filled the air for several long second before an ear splitting screech cast the entire scout camp into silence. Each of the officer looked up to the sky, watching a brilliant blue and grey eagle descend down towards them. One ducked and rolled away, lifting a crossbow to the sky, but Jerome raised a fist, causing the officer to freeze for a second before lowering his weapon with a frown. Murmurs of awe were already circulating through the troops as Valor circled once, his golden eyes scanning the men and women of the scout company. He screeched again and then dove towards Quinn, tucking in his wings as he dived over Quinn's shoulder impossibly fast, pulling up at the last second, banking and then gliding into the last climb to light upon Quinn's gauntlet. Valor cast a quick glance around the group before screeching sharply and then nuzzling the tracker's cheek, a smile now glowing upon her cheeks.

"Welcome back Val." Quinn said, scratching the eagle's chest. The bird cooed and shivered happily, flourishing his feathers before turning back to the stunned company of scouts. "Colonel Jerome, meet my partner, Valor." The eagle shifted its body slightly on his perch on Quinn's gauntlet to face the Colonel before sweeping an arm across his chest and bowing his head to the colonel.

"A Demacian Eagle?" Jerome breathed softly, his eyes wide in disbelief. "I thought they were extinct… and here you managed to train it?"

Valor flared his feathers and screeched at the officer. Jerome sunk back in surprise. "I… apologies." Jerome bowed to the bird, a smile of his face. "I must say, today is a number of firsts for me."

"Don't push it, Val." Quinn said derisively, glaring at the bird. _Val's steeling all the glory, again. _Valor glanced away, his feathers still ruffled, inflated, just like the birds sense of self importance. "Valor just doesn't like me referring to—" He screeched again. "—or people saying I trained him. He's a very cocky—ow! Valor!" The eagle had nipped her hand, glaring at her. Jerome laughed heartily, a few other scouts chuckled as well, murmurs of surprise and amazement passing through the ranks.

"Very well." Jerome said, grinning. "The rest of you are dismissed, you have your orders. Silence instantly descended upon the company as the officers saluted and then stepped backwards, disappearing into the swirling snow.

Quinn blinked twice, looking around; they had disappeared almost instantly. Valor was slightly more observant, his gaze following them up into the air and through the lower lying branches of the trees. Quinn looked up and caught the tail of a cloak disappearing over the top of a branch. She smiled thinly, looking down at the ground for traces that the scouts had ever been there. Her smile faltered in frustration for a moment; there weren't even track left where they had been standing. _Damn they're good_.

"The rest of your gear is yours to take back." Jerome said, gesturing to where Quinn's gear sat in a pile. "Is there anything you need?"

Quinn dug through her bag, frowning slightly. "Rations, if you have any to spare. A cloak maybe, some crossbow bolts, and your compass if you don't mind?"

"Done." Jerome said, tossing the compass to her. "Bring that compass back to me and I'll make sure you have a position waiting for you as well, Quinn." A smile played over his lips. "Valor too." The bird squawked up at him, though Quinn glared at him and the bird made a show of a grand bow again. "Stay safe, both of you." He turned to his company and whistled sharply, circling his hand over his head three times. "We move in five!"

"Show off." Quinn muttered to Valor, though she wore a smile. _I'm finally finding my place. _

_It feels good._


	3. Part III

Hi everyone, quick note: I ran into some issues with formatting this chapter, that I couldn't over come with the FF document editor as per my normal process. Please let me know if anything reads funny or seems off. Thanks!

* * *

Quinn sat at the edge of the scout camp, frowning as she watched as the scouts mobilized. They bustled to and fro, going about their business as they packed their gear. Quinn glanced down at the bedroll she had been given by one of Jerome's subordinates, the woman named Helena. Inside it contained food, a blanket, a change of clothes and a few other items that she would find useful. She had already changed into the clean, dry clothes she had been provided with and eaten a warm meal provided by the scouts. She had attempted to dry her belongings, but they had frozen solid already. Quinn had tucked them away in a box with some of the scouts encampment material, but she didn't know when or if she'd get them back. She sighed, there wasn't really anything important though; Quinn's belongs were all either at her home to the northeast or tucked away on her person.

_For now, we wait for dark._ Quinn paused, looking around again as the camp began to clear as scouts departed for their respective duties, each making their way from the confines of the camp. She looked to the sky; the snow had stopped. _With the Demacian dragnet in place, there won't be anywhere for him to escape but to the east. Without the snow to cover his tracks, I can track him whenever I want. We'll depart under cover of darkness. If we move swiftly, we should be able to catch him before the sun rises._

Quinn sighed as she pulled out her journal and turned to a fresh page; she had a little time to burn before the sun set over the horizon and Jerome had indicated he would wake her as soon as the scouts were departing. However, Quinn didn't want to fall asleep just yet. Her mind was still far too busy, and until she cleared her mind of some of these thoughts, she would go mad. She drew her quill pen from the spine of the journal, sweeping her hand along the brilliant blue plumage to straighten the feather that had come from Valor, a gift that he had given her on her birthday a few years back. She smiled at the quill pen as she looked skyward. The sun was starting to clear the clouds above, but it had yet to burn through the cold and the cloud cover. Above, Valor sat perched on a branch, his head tucked into his wing as he slept, catching a few hours of sleep while he could; flying in the snow wore him out.

Quinn smiled to herself. _You deserve the rest, friend. Rest well, while you can. _She turned to her journal and forced herself to put pen to paper, scrawling out what details she had so she wouldn't forget them. She took a deep breath and began to write.

_[I spoke with Prince Jarvan IV and Garen, Captain of the Dauntless Vanguard. Garen does not believe me-the dispatch will stand. I fear the Dauntless Vanguard will find nothing. The Prince has urged me to follow my instincts. Val and I leave tonight.[_

Quinn paused, her eyes turning to back towards the camp and the tree she had been shackled too, frowning as she drug up memories of her last interactions with Jarvan, and her most recent interactions with the Crownguard Captain. She sighed, shaking her head, her pen had already started to wander, filling in the lines of the Captain's hardened gaze and distrustful mug. She smiled to herself as she scrawled out a few notes about the captain.

_[Garen: Stubborn.]_

She paused, and crossed the word out, recalling his lieutenant, Tunis, and the man's harsh words. She started again next to the word she had crossed out.

_[By the book. Righteous intent. Has earned the utter devotion of his men. Val doesn't trust him.]_

Quinn hesitated on the last line; Valor rarely trusted anyone. However, he had trusted Jarvan the first time they met, though it had taken him longer to get comfortable around the rest of his men. Quinn's pen had started to wander again, cutting a second imposing silhouette from the page before starting to fill in the details. She paused, looking down at the work her pen had done. _Jarvan._ She frowned to herself internally, trying to tell herself that it was a useless cause, but every time she did, her mind came back to him. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, remembering the many hours they had spent together, fighting, struggling, surviving through the wastes north of the Institute of War. As a young girl she had heard many a story of the prince, playing him up to be just that: the prince. Quinn's pen hovered over the paper next to his portrait. She frowned. He looked angry in her depiction. She raised her pen to scratch the picture out, but she stopped, instead scrawling out a brief note as a thin smile slid onto her face.

_[He isn't what I expected…]_

She didn't know what else to say about the Prince of Demacia. He was an odd fellow in both manner, attitude and conviction. He was driven by his past, not haunted, like most men who had demons stuffed away in their closets. _An odd choice in women, too._ Quinn smiled to herself, sighing at the fact that she had managed to drag Shyvana up, again. _I don't dislike Shyvana… but I don't like her either._

Quinn sighed, shaking her head as she moved to the opposite page, turning back to the information at hand. She started to scribble out a copy of the map she had tucked into the earlier pages, but her attempts at a map soon turned artistic, and Quinn had to stop herself when she started adding little mountains and trees to the map, a small Valor soaring above the map, up and out of the page. She smiled as she ran her fingers over the page, along the thin feathers of the picture.

Quinn tucked the book back into her cloak and tucked her chin into the edge of the cloak, closing her eyes. She let her breathing slow as she dozed off, pulling the cloak tighter around her shoulders at the base of the tree.

* * *

Quinn sprinted along the massive tree branch, ducking below a low lying limb. Quinn watched as Valor hit an updraft, suddenly getting ripped higher into the air, tucking his wings as he rolled and banked so not to get too far ahead of his partner. Quinn smiled up at the Demacian eagle before jumping into the air, grabbing the hem of her cloak. The massive gust of air caught Quinn's cloak and she glided for a brief moment. She ducked one shoulder and he started to turn before she released the hem of her cloak. She landed on the branch and skidded along the icy branch, the soft leather of boots letting her follow the branch towards the trunk where it split.

Quinn kicked off the branch, tucking her knees into her chest as she leaped through crook in the trunk before she dropped onto another branch beyond the trunk. Quinn wobbled for a moment as she skidded along. She leaped at the end of the branch, extending her hands as she dropped over the edge of a brief but sharp drop as rocks rose up from the ground. Quinn hung in the air for several moments as she fell, her arms held away from her body as she closed her eyes.

_It's just like when we were kids, Caleb. _Quinn opened her eyes as trees started to rise up towards her. She extended her arm and caught a branch, her body immediately swung up, but her grip loosened and she slid away. Quinn tucked her knees into her chest as she spun, sticking another arm out as she caught a second branch. She twisted about and arced up through the air, looking for a route through the mess of trees and branches. Quinn extended an arm out to the side and caught the branch of another tree, spinning her about again as she caught a second branch as she stopped the spin. She caught the last branch that was directly in front of her with both hands as she flipped about, twirling through the air, up towards another tree trunk. She grabbed the trunk and braced the inside of her boots against the rough bark, slowing her descent. She slid onto a massive limb, grinding to a halt.

Quinn's heartbeat thundered in her ears, her breathing heavy and sharp. There was a massive smile on her face as she looked through the forest around her. Sharp spires of rock and massively old trees rose up in every direction, stretching as far as the eye could see till the colors had faded to an impenetrable field of grey, lost amid the skyline. Quinn slowed her breathing, looking up, picking Valor out among the sky as he circled, picking his way through the trees, one of his golden eyes glued to Quinn at all times. Her smile broadened as she watched the eagle wind through the branches and sharp rock formations. _It's been so long since we were out in the open like this. It feels good to have the wind at my back and the freedom to run and jump as I please. Caleb and I owned these woods. This was our territory. _

Quinn's eyes settled on a distant rock formation and her heart beat faster.

_I… I recognize this place…_

Quinn's feet carried her faster as she moved towards the rocks, skating over rock and limb as she descended down into small valley. It was surrounded by rocks and a wall of trees, almost completely sealed off to those who didn't know how to get in.

Quinn slid over on long branch before diving forward. _The rope is still there!_ Quinn grabbed the old rope, sliding much faster than she expected. The rope began to heat up in her hands, but Quinn held on; the heat felt good on her chilled palms. Quinn dropped the last few feet and hit the ground harder than she expected, dropping to her knees. She looked around the small clearing; it was deathly still.

_It's quiet… Painfully so._

Quinn stood up, looking around. The snow had dressed everything in white, but it was exactly the same as the last time she had come here. Valor landed heavily on her shoulder, rubbing his head against the crown on her hood. Quinn looked up at the bird and closed her eyes, reaching up to stroke his neck gently.

"Thanks, Val." Quinn murmured to herself more than the bird. "I suppose you recognize this place too, huh?"

Valor hooted softly. He dropped from her shoulder and swooped forward to a rock. He hopped about, squawking louder several times before snapping his beak at Quinn.

The tracker looked over at him, stepping forward, over the babbling brook that burbled beneath her feet. It dropped down from a spring high above amid the rocks, pouring into the gully before winding away into the forest. She pulled herself up onto the rock and crossed her legs, looking about. So little had changed in the last few years. There was a pang of grief pulling at her heart strings, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. Quinn struggled to control it for several seconds before she forced herself to pull out her journal. She turned to the pages she had drawn earlier and pulled out her pen. She made a brief note about Golden Crossing and then crossed it out again before looking down at her hand…. it was quivering.

Quinn shook her head and forced herself to start writing.

_[No city born Demacian could ever find this place. An army couldn't pass here, perfect for an assassin slipping away.]_

She drew a line from her note to the area she had pointed out to Colonel Jerome before along the edges of the marsh. Quinn looked over at Valor; he was hopping about hooting to himself over and over as he looked over the rocks; he obviously recognized the place. A sad smile played over Quinn's face as she ran a finger over the drawing of Valor.

_[It's been a while since were this far from the city. Val feels at home.]_

Quinn took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let her memories take her back.

_This was our favorite hiding spot. We came to play here hundreds of times as children. _

_Caleb and I..._

…

During the off seasons, when the crops didn't need tending, Quinn and Caleb descended into the forest to enjoy themselves in their fantasies. They had dreamed of greatness, knights, both of them. When Demacian troops had come through the village where Quinn's mother and father were selling their vegetables, Quinn and Caleb had both been ecstatic. They loved seeing the Demacian Knights in all their glory, their shining armor and the gleaming gold and blue standards flapping in the wind. It was just as they had dreamed; some day they knew that they would both become knights.

The memory was still painfully sharp in her mind.

The young knight was short compared to his compatriots, and he wore the collar tabs of a corporal. He had greasy hair and mousy eyes that were dark and beady, and his skin was almost pasty, as if he spent too much time inside. Despite this, he was by far the least imposing of the knights, and when Quinn and Caleb had finally worked up the courage to approach him to ask about his sword, they were looking forward to an answer. The two children had a running bet about how long the sword would be, but neither had ever seen one up close. Now, they had that chance to find out.

"Excuse me, sir." Quinn tugged on his sleeve, stepping back and putting on a broad smile, doing her best impression of the eyes of the does and fawns she had seen in the forest. The soldier turned, looking over their heads before frowning and looking down at the two children who stood smiling expectantly up at him.

"Yes, what is it?" He said testily, posting one hand on his hip. Quinn and Caleb's eyes were drawn to the sword hanging on his belt, their smiles growing. "Well, what do you want?"

Quinn shook her head, freezing up in her tracks as she looked up at the man who glared down at her. "Uh… uh…"

Caleb stepped forward and put a hand on Quinn's shoulder, stepping in front of her. "Excuse me, sir. Can we see your sword?"

"Why would you little brats want to see my sword?" The man seemed impatient, and while Quinn tried to sink back, Caleb cleared his throat and offered the man a smile, a gap showing in his teeth. His golden eyes sparkled, his black hair gleaming brilliantly in the morning sun despite his face smudged with dirt.

"See, we want to be knights when we get older, sir!" Caleb said bravely, doing his best to keep his voice steady. "We just wanted to know how long the blade was, that's all!"

"Dirty, snot nosed brats." The man sneered, shaking his head. "Commoners like you will never find themselves among the social elite. We knights of Demacia are the best of the best. The elite. Both social, maritally and intellectually. Go back to tending your potatoes, I have no time to deal with your nonsense." He spun on his heel and marched away, disappearing into the crowd of soldiers.

"W-what?" Quinn's voice had been small and pained, as if she had been punched in the gut. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up at the knight in disbelief. "But… I thought that…"

Caleb looked over at his sister and put on that infallibly crooked smile, grabbing her hands in his. "Come on, Quinn, don't let that stick in the mud get to you, alright?" He pulled out a handkerchief out of his pocket and held it out to her. "Here, blow your nose."

Quinn nodded once and then accepted the handkerchief and blew her nose. "Thanks, Caleb."

"It's fine. No problem at all!" Caleb announced, smiling. He glanced around and then his smile grew. "Wait here." Quinn frowned as Caleb turned and looked over the column of Demacian troops. One man was walking along the troops, his eyes on the Demacian Knights as he moved. Caleb ran up and stopped directly in front of him, posting his fists upon his hips in a manner similar to the younger, mousey soldier they had talked to before. The brown haired sergeant started when he looked down at the young man. He frowned, his emerald green eyes shining as he looked down at the child. His smile blossomed as he kneeled, sweeping his weapon aside as he dropped down to Caleb's level.

"And what what can I do for you, young man?" The man asked. Caleb looked at his collar; sergeant's rank tabs showed brilliantly in the morning sun.

"Can we see your sword, Sergeant?" Caleb asked definately. It caught the soldier by surprise, but he grinned and reached to his belt. He pulled it from its sheath and held it in both hands for the young boy to see. "Woah…" Caleb murmured.

"I have a son just a little older than you, young man." The sergeant said with a smile. "I know that look." Caleb gave him a massive grin. "It's pretty big, isn't it? Would you like to try holding it?"

"Sure! Hey Quinn, come look at this!" He turned and looked over his shoulder and froze, looking around. "Quinn? Hey Quinn, where'd you go?"

"Missing someone, young man?" The sergeant said, looking over his head. Caleb frowned but turned back to the Sergeant, smiling.

"Sorry mister, just looking for my sister." Caleb shook his head. "I can't hold it, I'm not big enough for a wepaon that size. But I just have one more question, sir. How long is your sword?"

The sergeant smiled and held the blade up next to Caleb. It was easily as tall as the child could reach. "It's much taller than you, little one. Now go find your sister, alright? Let her know how long it is, for me, alright?"

Caleb saluted proudly, grinning ear from ear. "Yes sir, sergeant… sergeant…" Caleb frowned.

"Sergeant Isaacs." The sergeant grinned as he scruffed up Caleb's hair. "Now go!"

Caleb nodded, taking off towards his parents stall. His mother was waiting for him and pointed towards the woods and the path that Quinn and Caleb had taken hundreds of times before.

The weather had been warm, and it had rained the night before. Mist had settled through the forest, and dew had dropped along everything. Quinn and Caleb knew the forest like their own backyard. They knew each and every route inside and out; it was a matter of instinct for them now from every time they had descended into the forest on one of their adventures.

Quinn had found her way into the gulley with little trouble, despite the heavy heart and the tears that had clouded her eyes. The gulley was their safe haven, both Caleb and Quinn had sought refuge there many times before. However, this time wasn't the like the others.

This time…

This time was going to change everything.

…

Quinn paused as she sat atop the rock, looking around the snow draped forest. It was deathly quiet. She took a few minutes and breathed deeply, letting her heart beat slow, clearing her mind of the pain she felt in her heart. She pulled out her journal and forced herself to concentrate on the pages within. She pulled out her quill pen and whetted the tip with her tongue as she brushed her fingers over a few of the pages. A tear dropped from her cheek, one Quinn hadn't even realized was there.

_Sorry, Caleb, I know you wouldn't want me to be pouting over this place, but the memories still hurt._

Quinn took a deep breath as she circled the tear a few times, the blue ink washing into a faded circle. She let it dry for a moment before turning the page. She looked about and then let her pen wander for a few moments, forming the base of a face. It wasn't long till the clear picture of her brother came to shape on her pages. She paused, smiling as she ran her fingers through the drying ink, giving his face a bit more definition with the makeshift, smudged shadows. She turned the corner of his mouth up, giving him the crooked smile he had always worn, his messy hair turned up along the center from one of the many times he had run his hand through it. It had been many years, but his face, it was just like yesterday.

Quinn took a deep breath and started writing.

_[We're here again, Caleb. The place I lost you. Everything is so quiet. It's as though this part of the woods died the day you did. I suppose I couldn't help but pass this way. When we were young and they told us we'd never be more than commoners, it didn't matter so long as we were together. We knew we could be more than what we were born to, and we had no fear. When I lost you, I learned to be afraid, and I forgot what it meant to dream of honor. _

_ But I've remembered now, brother. Demacia is counting on Val and I to bring an assassin to justice. We may not make it, but I cannot turn back._

_ I'm doing this for you, Caleb. _

_ Val's getting impatient. He's already scouting ahead. There's so much fire in his heart, he reminds me of you every day.]_

Quinn took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, closed her journal and kissed it before she tucked it into her jacket. She pulled herself off the rocks and forced herself to take a deep breath.

_No time to grieve now. We have our duty. _

"Come on, Val." Quinn said softly. "Let's go. We have a job to do."

Valor screeched as he took to the air and a smile spread over Quinn's face as he rolled and looped about happily.

_At least someone is happy to be here._

* * *

Valor screeched angrily.

_What is it Val?_ Quinn watched as the eagle swooped about one of the taller stone formations in the area, a massive stone plinth that was wider than it was tall. Valor circled over the top of the stone, and he lighted upon the single massive pine tree that was perched at the top of the stone plateau. _Huh, what'd you find up there?_

Quinn looked about from her perch atop one of the trees, gauging her different routes through the maze of rocks and trees. A smile spread over her face as she took off in a sprint along the limb, leaping into the air as she grabbed the hem of her cloak in both hands. Quinn used the billowing garment to slow her descent as she landed and skidded along a tree branch, following the length before kicking off the limb and bouncing off the trunk as she sprinted along another branch that was just lower than the one she had come in on. She leaped off the branch, dropping onto a rocky outcropping. She dropped to her knees, skidding forward in the snow before she spun and sprinted forward along the rocky outcropping. She picked her way over the stumps and sharp juts of rock to the top of the rise before she leaped forward. There was a gap that she just barely cleared, but the ledge she was aiming for was far slicker than she had expected. She skidded along the slope, the snow, ice and mud giving way under her. Quinn dropped back onto her thigh and stuck the other leg forward, holding her arms away from herself to balance as she skated down towards the bottom. She kicked her foot out as she neared the bottom, launching herself up through the air. Quinn struck the far rocky wall hard, expelling the air from her lungs, but she held on to the stone despite the ache in the entire front of her body. She took a few brief moments to catch her breath before she started climbing up the slope. It took her several moments, but she reached the top and dragged herself onto the rocky plateau.

_Okay, now I'm pushing it. _Quinn collapsed onto her back at the top and caught her breath as an amused smile played over her face, her breathing ragged and steamy as she stared up into the pure grey sky. She waited several long moments before she rolled to the side. Her hand sunk down and Quinn felt her heart jump out of her chest as she opened her eyes and looked into a massive hole that looked as if it had appeared from nowhere.

"That… that was too close." Quinn muttered as she rolled the opposite way, getting to her feet. "What a hole…" She took a deep breath as she forced herself to calm down her racing heart. She kicked a rock off the edge of the plateau into the hole; there was the sound of a few echoing strikes as the rock bounced around the sinkhole as it descended out of earshot. She didn't hear it hit the bottom. Quinn frowned, looking around for a larger rock. There was a decent sized stone as big as her fist that she hefted once and then chucked into the sinkhole. There was a dull thud that came from not too far below. Quinn waited for the echo, but the sound didn't come. _Thud? What?_

Quinn crept towards the edge of the sinkhole, leaning out towards the edge, looking into the hole. _A camp?_ Quinn froze, electricity running through her body. "This must be the Noxian encampment…" She looked around the edge of the sinkhole; a massive sill had been formed, dug out of the walls of the sinkhole to allow men to move around the edge. Quinn spied what looked like bunks, and there was a dark splotch on the largest section of the sill that she couldn't identify at first glance. "This must have been Lambert's camp…" Quinn murmured to herself, frowning slightly. "But if he's not here, that means we either passed him or he's already come and gone."

Valor hooted softly down at her, fluttering his wings slightly as he hopped along the branch he had perched on. He glided down from his perch to stand beside Quinn, looking into the hole. He hooted again, flapping his wings.

"I know the trail went cold, Val." Quinn muttered as she kneeled down, picking up another small rock and tossing it down the hole. It bounced a few times, the clatter echoing up from below. "It's really deep. But I don't see any where near enough bunks for all the men who attacked Jarvan."

Valor hooted again, striking her gently with the tip of his wing.

"What?" Quinn blinked a few times, looking over at the bird. "No, Valor, I don't know how to get into the hole. And to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure that I wanna go down there."

Valor squawked loudly this time, striking her harder with his wing.

"Don't tell me to go look for it, birdbrain!" Quinn growled back at the bird, giving him a cross gaze. "I'm already up here. I've got some rope. It might be difficult, but I can get down there from here." She leaned forward, gazing into the depths below. "Why don't you make yourself useful and go see if you can find an entrance?"

Valor hooted angrily once before hopping twice, diving off the edge and climbing back to his perch in the tree above.

"You already did?" Quinn blinked twice before shaking her head. _Show off._ "Make yourself useful, keep an eye out while I take a look around."

Valor screeched twice before shaking his head and spreading his wings as he jumped away and soared into the sky above.

"I know!" Quinn shouted after the eagle as he climbed into the sky above, starting to circle above. "Stupid bird." Quinn muttered as she pulled the length of rope from her pack and set about tying a knot around the massive tree trunk. "I already know that I need to check whether Lambert has come and gone. I'm not _that_ stupid."

There was an angry squawk that echoed down from above as Quinn winced, casting an annoyed glare back over her shoulder. "Dumb bird." Quinn continued her muttering, but this time she remained quiet enough that Valor couldn't hear the grumbling.

Quinn paused above the sinkhole, perched on the rocky outcropping as she hung onto the pine tree's roots as it clung to the edge of the windswept cliff. Down below, there was definite signs that a number of people had been living in the camp below. There were bunks carved into the side of the cliff, dug out by someone to create a ring in the walls of the sinkhole. There was a single larger outcropping along the edge of the encampment cliff, the remains of seats and a campfire that had seen long hours of use in the middle of the circle. What looked like a makeshift kitchen had been also carved into the side of the cliff, and a single dark doorway ran upwards from across Quinn's perch. She leaned over the edge, already down on all fours as she peered into the depths. There was only darkness below, hundreds upon hundreds of feet below, the faintest glimmer of silver could be seen.

_At least there is a bottom… _Quinn frowned as she glanced around before she grabbed a sap covered branch. She dug a flint and tinder from her bag, taking it from within the rations that Colonel Jerome had supplied her with. She used her knife to strike the machined flint, lighting the end of the branch on fire. Despite the fact that the branch was still green, the sap flared up nicely. Quinn waved the branch about to make sure it wouldn't go out, and satisfied with her work, she tossed the limb over the edge and watched as it tumbled to the bottom of the sinkhole. It fell, and fell and fell before it finally bounced and disappeared someone down at the bottom. _How deep is this damnable hole?_ Quinn swallowed, hard, shivering as she looked up at Valor as he swooped about above.

"Val, if anyone approaches, you let me know, alright?" Quinn waited till the eagle screeched back down at her.

Quinn took a deep breath as she tied a rope off to the tree trunk and gave it a mighty heave. The rope hummed for a brief moment, but it didn't budge an inch. Satisfied with her knot, Quinn tossed the rope over the edge of the cliff and then carefully slithered down the cliff into the sinkhole. She descended down the rope slowly, pausing as she hung above the dark depths below. She shivered, her mind suddenly tracking back to the memory of just how long it had taken the branch to fall to the bottom. Quinn closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head, clearing her mind. She opened her eyes, looking for the outcropping with the fire ring, and oriented herself to face that as best she could. Quinn began to swing, undulating her legs back and forth till she was arching back and forth over the sinkhole. Quinn waiting till she had enough height on one of the back swings and then put all of her energy into the last swing, letting go at the pinnacle of the next swing. She hung in the air for several long seconds before she hit the ground, hard, and rolled. Quinn had automatically tucked her legs into her chest as she rolled, but she had overestimated her jump and slammed into the wall.

Quinn groaned as she pulled herself to her feet, mumbling and rubbing the back of her neck as she looked around. Valor swooped down and perched upon one of the pine tree's roots above, screeching as his eyes scanned the inside of the camp for his companion.

"I'm alright, Val." Quinn called up as she waved at the bird. "Just a rough fall. Keep an eye out, alright?" Valor screeched and spread his wings and took to the sky again, swooping away.

Quinn began around the overhang, looking about the makeshift encampment. The ground was well worn by boot tracks, most of the different paths leading back and forth between the various bunks, the kitchen area and then the door that had been carved out of the wall. Quinn stopped in front of the door, it arced up through the ground, under a major shelf of rock. She couldn't see where the path went, it dipped for a moment before it rose back up towards the ground, and what Quinn could only assume was a hidden doorway that opened into the canyon's below.

Quinn paused at the entrance into the camp and kneeled, looking at the dirt. She ran her hands over the surface briefly, frowning as she pulled her hood back and ran a hand through her hair, shaking the sweat from her glove. She frowned, her eyes scanning the ground around her. "Lots of foot prints, all leading out." She rose to her feet and backed away, scanning the ground in a further radius. "There are no further tracks leading into the camp either. Looks like last time anyone was here, they were all leaving for their first, and final, stand against Jarvan and his men." Quinn paused, looking around, counting the number of bunks. "...Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen."

"There were easily twice that many in total, with both groups." Quinn mused, frowning. "But I suppose that explains why they came in two groups. Two patrols, each cycling in and out of their duties, swapping back and forth. One watches Shyvana and the Prince and patrols the area surrounding the camp while the other eats, gathers supplies, and rests. Surprisingly solid plan." Quinn looked about and then shrugged. "I'm finished here."

Quinn shook her head as she turned and headed towards the edge. She rounded the sill, looking into the depths below, following the ledge till she was as close to the rope as possible. She swallowed hard, looking down into depths below before closing her eyes and swallowing hard. She took two massive steps backwards and then sprinted forward leaping through the air. She wrapped her hands around the rope and slid a short ways, her palms heating up till she stopped sliding. There was only a short length of rope below as she glanced down. She shivered as she shook her head and began her ascension. When Quinn dragged herself onto the surface of the of the plateau, she breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't like the thought of getting caught down in there." She shivered and took a deep breath, holding it and finally exhaling heavily. She drug herself to her feet and looked about.

_There's nothing as high as the plateau for hundreds of miles. _Quinn frowned, looking back into the hole. _No better place to make camp. _Quinn shivered as a gust of wind swept over her, sending chills up and down her spine. She sighed, shaking her head as she slid around the back of the tree and laid out her bed roll, folding it in half once before sitting down on top of it. She shook her blanket out and wrapped it around her shoulders, tucking her knees into her chest as she sunk back into a small depression of the trees roots. _He would have to be miles away to get me within his sight line. I should be safe here._ Valor dropped down next to her, bouncing along the ground for several hops before coming to a stop in front of Quinn. He cocked his head from side to side before finally hooting softly.

"Thanks, Val." Quinn said softly, struggling to smother a yawn. "You know what we have to do, right?" The eagle nodded his head once, blinking his golden eyes twice as they trained in on the tracker. "Good. I don't look forward to another fight, but I have no choice." A smile broke onto her face. "And this time, we have the advantage. So we'll do it. We'll definitely win this time." She reached out and stroked Valor's downy cheek. The eagle shivered once before he rubbed his head against her hand, hooting softly. "I know, I know." Quinn said, sinking back against the tree, sighing heavily. "I know I need some rest if I try to fight him. I'm going to take a nap in a moment." Valor hooted again. "I just need a take care of a few things first, alright?"

Valor hooted softly, his golden eyes trained on her for several long moments before he spread his wings and swooped upwards towards the tree above her. She heard him land in the limbs above, somewhere out of sight. Quinn took a deep breath as she pulled out her journal and opened to a blank page at the end of the small book. She carefully pulled a page free of the bindings, unfolding the sheet of paper as she pulled her quill pen out. Quinn took a deep breath and began writing in the cleanest scrawl she could manage in the adverse conditions.

_[Honorable Prince Jarvan IV, _

_ I've tracked the assassin to what I assume to be his camp. It's well-hidden among the trees and rocks and only really visible from above. I'm certain Garen's army would have marched past it._

_ When the sun sets, Val will strike from the dark. I don't know how well-equipped the target is, but if we catch him off guard, I'll be able to take him down before he sees me. But if I don't return, please tell my family to forgive me and that I wasn't alone. I have Valor at my side. _

_ This man must be brought to justice. _

_ In the King's name, _

_ Quinn &amp; Valor]_

Quinn read over the message once and frowned.

_It's impersonal, but if Jarvan is still incapacitated then it will likely end up with the king._ She shivered but sighed. _It will have to do. Hopefully it will get to Jarvan, or even Shyvana. _Quinn paused, her hand poised over the letters she had scrawled across the paper. She hadn't even mentioned Lambert's name, much less the details of her plan. _Jerome said it wouldn't help me, knowing Lambert's name. For now, he remains a nameless Noxian Assassin. _ Quinn took a deep breath and closed her eyes, flicking her journal closed and tucking it into her cloak, next to her heart. She whistled quietly and waited for the flutter of wings. The sound of feathers in the wind was soft and reassuring in her ears as the eagle swept down in front of her. Quinn folded the letter again and held it out to Valor, who simply glanced down at it once before looking back up the tracker with brilliant golden eyes.

Quinn sighed. "Don't give me that look. You know as well as I do that he's not going to move till nightfall." Valor cocked his head from side to side before looking down at the letter once more. "I'll wait till you get back to nap, alright? Take this to Jarvan or Shyvana if he's still out." The bird hooted snappily at her, his tone sharp about the dragoness. "I know, I know. But she's a friend now, yes? So be polite at the very least."

Valor snapped his beak at her once before grabbing the letter and hopping away, shaking his head slightly. He hopped to the edge of the plateau before diving over the edge and disappearing for several long moments before rising up in the distance

_Fly swift, my friend, for tonight we hunt._


	4. Part IV

The flutter of wings and gentle nudges on her arm woke Quinn from her heavy slumber. She rose groggily, rubbing her eyes; it had been more hours than she could count on twice all of her hands and toes together since the last time she had slept. She yawned as a gust of wind caught her hair and whipped it into her face starting to cut through the haze better than any cup of coffee could ever do. Quinn felt ice spread through her veins as she slammed herself back against the roots of the tree. She looked down to her feet where Valor stood looking back at her, his head cocked to the side with his golden eyes glued to her, gleaming in the barest of the sliver of moonlight. Quinn put a hand over her heart, hoping her breathing would slow, willing her pounding heart to slow its racing pace.

"Val, you scared the hell out of me." Quinn muttered to herself, shivering as she sank down lower amid the roots of the massive, gnarled pine tree that clung to the rocks of the plateau that overlooked Lambert's camp. Above, the sky had darkened to an inky black, the moon and the stars were almost completely obscured by the clouds. "Did Jarvan get the message?"

Valor hooted softly and tersely shook his head as Quinn set about messing with her gear, ensuring nothing had come loose in her unforeseen nap.

"Of course he didn't." Quinn muttered, a moment of frustration sliding into her voice. "Who did you give it to then?"

Valor watched Quinn for a brief moment, his golden eyes darkening only briefly before the eagle spread his wings and started to hop away.

"Sorry, Val, I didn't mean it. I'm just a little mad that I fell asleep." She reached out and stroked the bird's crest, scratching his chest just below his beak. The eagle shivered happily and hopped back towards her. "Have you eaten?"

Valor hooted matter-of-factly and nodded as he bounced away, spread his wings, and circled upwards to the perch he had claimed in the tree above.

"You stopped to eat a fox." Quinn muttered to herself, rolling her eyes. "No wonder you took so long." Quinn flinched as the eagle squawked derisively at her. She mumbled to herself as she pulled out her provisions and examined the hard bread and dried meat. "It couldn't hurt them to pay a little more for their rations could they?" Quinn ripped a strip of the dried strider meat free with her teeth, chewing the leathery 'food' till it had softened to the point where she could manage to swallow it. Quinn exhaled softly and shivered. _It's spiced well but it's like chewing on wood._

Quinn looked over the landscape that was splayed out around her. The plateau she had made camp upon was the highest point for miles around and while there were sharp peaks that rose up that came close to the plateau, some shrouded by trees, others windswept and bare, there were few that would offer an advantageous position to anyone defending. Quinn pulled herself up just far enough that she could look out over the last of the rocky terrain towards the edge of the marshes. The terrain offered a steady rise up to the edge of the marshes where a slope sloped back down under the edge of the peak had been carved out of the stone by magic and mason millennia ago. Once upon a time the cliffs that lined the marshes of Kaladoun had been the greatest defensive wall in all of Valoran, but in time they had been breached, and sections had been eroded and destroyed. There were three main locations where the wall had been breached, two of which had been the only entrances into Demacian territory once upon a time. The east road gate and the ford at Golden Crossing had been the only passageways between the rest of Valoran and the freljord, and Demacia. Both had been breached in the first Rune War and then when fortresses had erupted to fill the voids, a third gap had been blown right through the marshes, which had created the final gap in the wall. Terrifying magic had be used to blow huge holes and crush thousands of tons of rock to dust and gravel. It was one of the great remaining scars that harkened back to an era millennia in the making.

Quinn sat back and pulled her canteen from her belt as she took a swig before continuing to struggle through eating the dried meat and hardtack bread. She had nearly fallen into Lambert's camp and unless something was completely off about her estimates, Lambert wouldn't have any choice but to return here and then strike back out along the edges of the marsh to the southeast. The tracker sighed as she washed the last of the Demacian rations down with a swig from her canteen. Quinn looked up into the soupy black sky as the cloud cover thinned just long enough for her to make out the silhouette of the moon.

"If he's coming at all, it should be soon." Quinn murmured to herself as she patted herself down. She tightened the straps of her hardened leather armor and made sure every interlocking plate was held where it was supposed to be. She put hands on both of her weapons: the knife on the back of her waist and the crossbow that hung upon her hip. Quinn pulled the knife free first, examining the length of the blade for any problems. It was razor sharp and though she had cleaned it of the blood that had stained the blade, it hadn't done much to hide the coppery scent that followed a blade bathed in blood. The thought that her weapons would be so soaked caused bile to rise in her throat and shivers to run up and down her spine like electricity, but there was a certain comfort that came in knowing that her weapons were serving the greater good of Demacia, and not the blood-crazed eccentricities of a mad man. She sheathed the knife and pulled out her crossbow, examining the weapon.

The crossbow was a much finer weapon than the knife as Quinn traded the later for the former. The weapon had been a design of her own, perfected from her and Caleb's machinations as children. They had once strived to create the best ranged weapon a knight could carry in a single hand, and while Quinn's deft hands had been instrumental in crafting the devious weapon as childs, it had been Caleb's ingenuity and determination that had seen the weapon through to the end. Originally it had simply been a toy that fired polished twigs at targets and trees, but when Quinn had grown older and teamed up with Valor, she needed a weapon that wouldn't encumber her as a falconer, but one that also wouldn't limit her movements in close quarters. It had taken several attempts to fashion a proper copy of the weapon that was strong enough, powerful enough, and small enough to fit the tracker's criterion, but eventually Quinn had fashioned the weapon she carried now. The compact repeating crossbow had been with Quinn long enough that most every piece of the weapon had been replaced at least once, but despite the wear and punishment Quinn subjected the weapon to, it had never once failed Quinn in the field.

Quinn laid out her pack, upside down, pushing a divot into the back of the cloth to form a rough bowl as she started her disassembly. It took her a little work to pull the main action off of the weapon, but once she had completely removed the bowstring it wasn't very difficult. Once all the parts had been disassembled, Quinn used the small bottle of oil she carried to grease the metal parts before quickly reassembling the weapon. The entire process from draw to disassembly to reassembly and restringing, start to finish, only took a matter of minutes; Quinn had practiced the maneuvers endlessly, even wearing down some parts from over cleaning.

The faint flutter of feathers and the gentle hoot that drifted down from above caused Quinn to sheath her weapon, pack away her gear and ready herself for an encounter. Valor was ready, and as Quinn slung half the rope she had been given around her body, a rock tied at one end, the only sound that could be heard was the thunderous roar of her heartbeat rumbling in her ears.

Quinn's breathing was fast; it had been a long time since she had faced a task as mammoth as taking down Lambert. He had already proved to be extremely dangerous, and while he didn't know or read the terrain as well as Quinn did, it would come down to her wits and aim that would save her, not the brawn of a dragon or the courage of a prince. Quinn took a deep breath as the crunch of boots in dirt and gravel could be heard echoing up from below in the sinkhole.

_It's time. Q_uinn chirped an inaudible whistle, summoning Valor to the roost on her forearm. "First we draw him out and lead him down the gauntlet. Make for the coast and force him to fight in the open where my range and his exhaustion with trump his strength. Ready Val?"

The bird nodded affirmatively, his eyes cold and sharp as a golden dagger, poised to rip out someone's throat.

_It's time to hunt!_

_..._

Lambert snarled as he kicked over a coffee pot in his camp; his men had been overly confident in the fact that the unique location and impassible terrain would stop any foe from finding them, however even the thickest of underbrush had done nothing to hamper the Demacian tracker who had taken it upon herself to track him down. Lambert indulged himself in a smug smile; the girl's own fancy maneuvering and flashy footwork had been her undoing, landing her face down with her head smashed open at the bottom of a gully. The Noxian giggled to himself: it was poetic justice what had happened, like the god who had made his wings of wax and flown too close to the sun, the girl's dreams and skills had all come crashing down into a bloody mess.

The distant hoot of an owl only served to remind Lambert of the second half of his nightmare. _The girl may be dead, but that fucking bird of hers isn't gone yet. I'm going to make sure I come back and hunt down every last bastard eagle and stuff each and every one of them. _He growled to himself and shook his head as he set about digging through the kitchen area, searching for non-perishable items to carry on his escape. "Cut off my escape to the North, my escape to the Southeast..." His frown had grown into a scowl. "They're really trying hard to make me suffer. Fuckers. I'll just head straight across the frozen marshes and avoid the whole damn thing. Lets see what they do when I slip right through their clutches again." He paused for a moment, looking at a tin of potted meat. "Leblanc may have betrayed me, but perhaps the grand general will have use of information of this growing deception of late..." Lambert resumed his rummaging, mumbling through his plan over and over. "I can't wait to see the faces of Noxians and Demacians alike when I appear in Kalamanda bearing such valuable news. Hell, maybe I'll even get a whole battalion to myself, not an understrength company." Lambert's laughter turned giddy. "Escaping through the marshes over the ice..." He laughed again giddily. "Nobody even considered that I'd do that!"

"Actually I figured you'd be smart enough not to try that with the melting ice and all."

"Hardly." Lambert laughed jovially. "Take it slow on the ice and it won't fail on you. Sure footing is all you need."

Lambert froze.

_All of my men are dead already… Then who…? _Lambert clenched his fists where he had stood frozen, his hands poised over a small bag. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Quinn, hanging from a rope that had hung from the tree above. She grinned cheekily at him and waved, her feet were clamped together over the rope and one hand was still snugly wrapped around the heavily braided cord. Gear and weapons hung from her body as she gave him a massive, toothy grin, wriggling her fingers in a taunting greeting.

"Fancy seeing you _hanging_ around here." Quinn giggled.

"Y-y-you!" Lambert rolled and dived to to the side, drawing his sidearm and firing off a quick shot, but it went wide. However, Quinn had already disappeared, only leaving the rope swaying back and forth, hanging over the middle of the sinkhole. Lambert clambered to his feet, grumbling as he did. "Dammit. She's a nimble little twerp..." Lambert growled, grabbed the sack of supplies and tucking it into his belt. He drew his sword and headed down the access tunnel, kicking open the hatchway and pushing through the bush that hid it from sight above. He glanced around, taking time to scan the sky before pushing into the open. Lambert dashed from cover to cover, pushing himself into bushes and keeping under tree cover where ever he could find it.

"Come out, come out wherever you are..." Lambert mused softly, glancing about as he tucked the revolver into his waistband and sheathed his sword, starting up the outside of the rocky rise to the plateau. Lambert scaled the wall with some effort; remaining quiet and making a decent time up the steep incline was more than physically demanding. He grumbled quietly to himself as he picked his way up the rocks. He paused at the top of the rise, pushing his head over the edge for a brief moment and checking for his target. The girl was no where to be seen.

Lambert slid up onto the plateau and carefully hoisted himself onto his feet. He kept his sword handy, and his gun was ready on his hip should he stumble into the girl's sights. He crept around the edge of the hole towards the tree, padding along softly, only the sound of shallow breathing ringing in his ears. Lambert kept his head on a swivel, watching the sky as best he could; the tracker's pet bird had a habit of dropping from the sky at an alarming speed.

Lambert stepped up to the to the tree, carefully checking the gnarled roots in case she was hiding within. He paused for a brief moment as he glanced about once again before freezing. He looked into the air above, trying to look through the branches of the tree, but the pine needles were too thick and there was nothing to be seen amid the tree branches and needles. Lambert sighed heavily and leaned his sword back upon his shoulder, looking down at the tree. Rope was still tied around the trunk. Lambert slid the tip of the sword into the loop of rope that ran around the tree and slid it in till the first edge of the serrations caught on the rope.

Something shook in the tree above, and a few pine needles dropped down past Lambert's face. The Noxian froze for a few moments, his hand slipping towards his waist. Lambert spun as he drew his weapon, emptying the chamber into the tree above. He froze as the sharp sounds echoed around the rocky area, bouncing from rock formation to rock formation. Lambert listened carefully as the winds picked up some of the pine tags knocked loose by the bullets dropping them down around him like green snow. He waited several long seconds before grunting and taking a deep breath.

_Did I imagine the whole thing? _Lambert tucked the weapon back into his belt and turned his attention back to the rope wrapped around the tree trunk, struggling to lever the blade about to cut through the heavy cord. _I'm tired, hungry and I've been going for hours and hours with barely any sleep. Maybe I should just hole up here for a while. Kill the girl and then lay low till everything just blows over…_ Lambert grimaced as he struggled with the awkwardly knotted rope, struggling to get through the heavy cord. He sighed heavily, leaning on the blade. "I need to find that little bitch and put her on ice. I'm so fucking done with dealing with this persistent little girl."

"Persistent, I will take." Quinn mused from above as she watched Lambert freeze. "But little girl? Please, can't you come up with a better insult?" She offer him an obnoxiously cute smile as she leveled the crossbow with his head. "Back away from the sword, keep your hands up, and keep them away from your body. I'd rather _not_ kill you, if it can be avoided." Valor looped about, dropping towards Lambert. He touched down well out of arm's reach of the Noxian, keeping his wings reared back. He snapped his beak when Lambert glanced over at him.

Lambert glanced up over his shoulder and sighed, exhaling slowly, straightening up. "What do you want, huh? Information? Money?"

Valor hopped forward and squawked angrily at the Noxian and his insinuations that they could be bought off so easily.

"We can start with a few answers." Quinn said softly. "I have a few questions I want you to answer, and answer me truthfully. You don't know what I know and what I don't, so If you don't answer me truthfully, I will put an arrow is your knee. Let's see you do anything, much less spend your days adventuring through Demacia when you've taken an arrow in the knee."

"Answer me something first, then you get your answers." Lambert said gruffly, keeping his arms raised away from his body.

Quinn frowned and grunted softly. "Fine. One question."

"Who the fuck are you?" Lambert snarled. "Seriously? Who the fuck are you and why do you care so fucking much? I've never seen anyone put themselves through so much hell for something they understand so little."

Quinn grunted softly and frowned. "I understand you're a murderous Noxian bastard who doesn't understand valor, duty, or the desire to pursue and defend Demacian Justice. The Demacian people are driven by their desire to disseminate benevolence and order for the betterment of all beings throughout Valoran. Malice and selfishness characterizes your Noxian policy where physical and mental strength trumps all and the desire for more of each continues to push you all into a murderous fit to acquire more and more power, through any means. For me, this is both my chance to prove my strength and my means to uphold Demacian Justice. I have my orders from the prince himself, and I will complete his orders even if I die in the process."

Lambert let his head hang back and bellowed a mighty laugh.

Quinn frowned, watching the man as he nearly doubled over laughing. "You think my convictions funny?"

"The hypocrisy of it all it grand, that it all." Lambert's chuckles died slowly as he glanced down and then took a step away from his sword, keeping his hands raised up and away from his body. Valor hopped after him, the feathers around his neck flaring up angrily as he danced back and forth menacingly. Lambert dropped down onto the stone, his hands still held away from his body, his legs spread in front of him as his shoulders slumped. "I've been in and out of Demacia for the last few months. I've seen the draconian measures your people do through. Stockades and public executions? Trial by combat? Hardly the stunning morale superiority your people love to trounce about." Lambert snarled in disgust. "Ask your questions. All this talk of morals and _justice_ is about to turn my stomach."

"Valor, Go fetch Colonel Jerome." Quinn said, scribbling a quick note on a sheet of paper from her journal. He ripped the sheet free and folded it up, holding it out towards the eagle. Valor squawked angrily at her. "I can handle this joker. He tries anything and I put a bolt between his eyes, alright? Just go fetch the colonel, alright?"

Valor squawked derisively again, glancing over his wing at Lambert. He snapped angrily and then spread his wings, taking to the skies and climbing up to the branch Quinn had perched on. He lighted for a brief moment, hooting before snatching the letter and diving away, gliding into the distance and disappearing into the darkness.

Quinn grunted and frowned, turning back to the Noxian. "You spoke to a woman you called Emilia. Who is she and what importance is she to you?"

"So you heard that too, eh? Fucking figures." Lambert muttered, shrugging. "Emilia Leblanc. Fuck if I know who she is other than the name and the fact she works with Swain. I was just instructed to meet her outside the city if anything ever went south. When shit hit the fan and our orders weren't exactly as easy to complete as me and my men were lead to believe, I cut and run and met up with her as per my orders from Swain. As it turns out, I was apparently set up." He grunted and glanced away.

"Strength at the cost of not being able to trust anyone." Quinn mused. "Sounds like a really great way to live."

"Are you going to mock me or ask questions?" Lambert grunted angrily.

"You said Swain and this Leblanc had spies in Demacia." Quinn said menacingly. "I want names of all of the spies and all of your contacts inside and outside of Demacia."

"You really are new to this, aren't you?" Lambert chuckled, shaking his head. "That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works."

"Enlighten me, then." Quinn said, lowering the bow towards the Noxian's knee. "Or maybe you'd like to like a crash course in hopping? Show him, Val." The bird squawked as he bounced about awkwardly on one foot.

Lambert rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yeah, whatever. When a situation like this arises, where our identities and cover are compromised, what do you think happens? When those get blown, everyone goes to ground. Arrangements change and points of contact have to be completely reestablished. All I have are pre-arranged meeting times and places, no names, nothing to tie us back to anyone other than our unit. That's how it works. I don't know anything more than my individual unit, so I can't give anything away. Even if you weren't a terrible interrogator, I wouldn't have anything to give. So, unless you want me to go through and name off every one of my subordinates, I don't have shit for you. Next question."

Quinn growled and shook her head, but continued onwards. "You said there was a general who had been ousted from hiding spot in Demacia. Which general are to talking about and what information does he have?"

"I don't know." Lambert said, shrugging again. "Red hair, green eyes, former Noxian general. You do the math. I don't know what information he has, but I was supposed to track the prince in the hope that he would lead me to this general so I could kill him."

"The missing General Du Couteau?" Quinn asked, her eyes growing wide. "You mean… the prince is…?"

"Working with the Noxians?" Lambert said, casting a cold glance back at Quinn. He shrugged. "Hell if I know what that bumbling idiot of a prince has planned. I was just told to kill the general, or kill the prince if he was getting too close to the finding the general before me. Obviously you know what happened, you were there. You even killed a few of my men with those bolts of yours."

Quinn was silent for several long moments, thinking about the possible implications. _We knew that Jarvan got dragged into Noxus and he was nearly killed at Shyvana's hands in the arena there, but what exactly has he gotten himself into? Why would he know the location of a Noxian general? Does this have anything to do with his run ins with Katarina and Talon?_

"Anything else?" Lambert asked, sarcasm thick in his voice, breaking Quinn's train of thought. "My arms are getting tired here."

"One last thing." Quinn said, shaking her head to clear her mind. "What do they want the prince's blood for?"

"As if I would know." Lambert shrugged. "You were obviously there. You already know that I was set up with that information because I was to be killed if I survived. Again, you do the math. Are we done now? Can I go?"

"Go?" Quinn asked and then giggled. "You're not going anywhere but coming with me back to the capital. You'll answer for your crimes and the murder of Constantin Steelsword, the attack on the prince and the attack on the king as well. That is, after the Demacian Security Brigade is done with your interrogation. Sound okay with you?"

Lambert grumbled under his breath, and looked over as Quinn tossed a length of rope down onto his leg. "What's this for?"

"Tie yourself up with that." Quinn said, offering Lambert a grin.

"You really are a newbie when it comes to this, aren't you?" Lambert grumbled, rolling his eyes again. "How the fuck am I supposed to tie my own hands?"

"Oh." Quinn mumbled, blushing slightly. "Right." She sighed and leaned backwards, holding onto the branch as she slid all the way around, spinning her body forward and flipping about, dropping onto her feet in a pristinely stuck landing. She started towards Lambert, clipping her crossbow onto her belt. "Put your hands out and stay still."

Quinn watched as he raised his arms and froze, the revolver was clutched in his hands. _What!? When did he have time to grab it!? _Quinn looked up as Lambert grinned up at the tracker, raising the handgun. He leveled it at her chest.

"I hope you're happy carrying all the information to the grave." Lambert snarled.

_No! Not yet! _

The revolver cylinder glowed green as it started to rotate.

Quinn felt the world start to slow down around her as she watched the weapon train onto her heart. The mechanisms in the cylinder clicked several times, each echoed in Quinn's mind like the striking of a hammer on anvil, echoing in her mind. The hammer reached the peak of its position and then started to fall. The hammer struck the the cylinder and Quinn clamped her eyes shut, expecting oblivion.

_Click._

"Huh?" Quinn opened her eyes and looked down at the weapon aimed at her chest, and then up into the surprised face of Lambert as he looked down at the weapon. He turned it on his side, and frowned slightly before pointing it back at Quinn. He pulled the trigger a few more times and the cylinder cycled, but there was no resultant explosion.

"What the fuck?" Lambert snarled, looking down at the weapon. "Stupid piece of Zaunite rubbish! Work, damn you!"

Quinn watched as the cylinder cycled a few times, and counted six clicks in total for the six chambers within. A smile broke out on her face and she giggled softly as she got to her feet. "You wasted all your rounds already!"

"Wha-..." Lambert glanced down at the revolver and then glanced up over his shoulder up at the tree, hissing angrily. "Fucking… Fine! We'll do this the old fashioned way!" He spun and rolled as Quinn fired a crossbow bolt. It barely missed, catching Lambert's cloak and bouncing away, disappearing over the edge of the plateau.

_Seven left._

Quinn cursed to herself as she righted herself, raised her weapon, and cycled the action on the crossbow, a new round rising into the action. Lambert spun as he drew his sword, the crimson blade howling as the icy air hit the steel, the serrated blade screeching against the mouth of his sheath. Quinn fired another bolt, loosing the projectile just as Lambert's blade cleared the mouth of the sheath, violent gusts of wind surrounding him just in time to shatter the bolt. The metal head bounced away, echoing off the rock walls into the depths below. Quinn shielded her face as wooden shrapnel pelted her, starting to turn away. _Six bolts left. _The heavy footfalls reverberating through the stone told her Lambert was already coming.

Quinn lifted her knife as the blade came crashing down towards her head. She started to slide the side, catching the sword with her blade, but it shattered with the strike and sent the blood thirsty blade bouncing away. Lambert snarled as the blade struck rock and hummed in his hand, the vibrations running up his arms. He brought the weapon about and raised it over his head. Quinn started to bring her knife back up, but glanced at the useless, shattered blade.

Quinn froze, looking up as the viciously serrated blade arced through the air, howling with its wild bloodlust and swirling with a demonic sheen. Quinn brought her gauntlet up and raised it above her head. The blade cleaved the armored perch in two, snapping it free of her armor as Lambert wheeled about and raised his blade to finally end his troubles.

Quinn steeled herself for the blade to cleave her betwixt, but the strike didn't fall. There was a bright flash of light and Lambert snarled as the blade swung wide. Quinn clamped her eyes shut against the bright light as the shriek of steel on polished steel echoed like a demon crying out in pain. The flutter of a cloak and the cool sensation of shade told Quinn that she was no longer alone. She opened her eyes as the cloak rippled, the gentle clink and clank of metal echoing in her ears. Blood dripped down onto the ground around Quinn, and for a brief moment she thought that she had been hurt. The swirl of purple filled her vision and pulled her attention away as she looked up at her protector.

"I always wondered why people close their eyes when they think they're going to die." The deep bass timbre growled with curiosity and a sense of superiority that spoke of how much the owner thought he had earned for his simple appearance into the fray. There was something else behind the tone, as if the owner of the voice was struggling to hold something heavy. Quinn looked up at the hooded man, a diamond shaped blade on his forearm gleamed in the dim moonlight, and blood dripped from his elbow as a dark splotch grew on his shoulder. The hooded man pushed up with both blade and his shoulder, the crimson blade howling excitedly as it tasted blood.

"Talon!?" Lambert snarled as he leaped away, putting distance between him and the Noxian Assassin. "What are you doing, you fool!?"

Talon stumbled a step away from Quinn and flashed a wounded smile at her as he tugged his hood back just enough to show his face. "The prince will be in an adverse enough state of mind with just the dragoness on his mind, I don't need you getting in trouble too." There was a moment of heavy breathing as Talon grunted, putting a hand over the wound in his shoulder. He turned half way towards Quinn, offering her a cool grin. "Just a hint, babe: You should _probably_ avoid the pointy end from now on. It's kind of dangerous."

Quinn blinked several times, still frozen where she had fallen. "But I thought... you mean you were actually in Demacia?" Quinn shook her head to try and clear the shock that had settled in her mind like a fog.

"Who said I wasn't?" Talon said with a smirk. "I saw the bird and figured you were nearby, and when I heard you were in trouble I decided to check up on you."

"Talon, you know this little bitch?" Lambert scoffed, his blade slumping in his hand as he glanced back and forth between Quinn and the other Noxian. Talon pressed a hand onto the wound in his shoulder and looked down at his hand as it came away bloody. He grinned as he grabbed the edge of his cloak and spun and swirled the bladed tips sown into his cloak around himself as another bright flash of light exploded in the midst of the two men. Lambert snarled as he tried to shield his eyes from the brilliant burst of light, turning away. Talon laughed aloud as blades exploded from the tips of his cloak. He reappeared behind Lambert, a vicious smile on his face. He reached out and slashed the tendons on Lambert's arm, laughing to himself as he danced away blood dripping from the blade on his forearm.

"Now things are even." Talon chuckled softly as he blinked away, stumbling down to one knee as he held a hand over the wound in his shoulder. "I'm surprised you lasted this long, babe, and I'll truly be impressed if you survive."

"Talon!" Lambert snarled after the assassin as the blade dropped from his hand. Blood poured down his arm now, spilling onto the rocks below. "I am going to kill you for this! I swear it!"

"You still have to deal with me!" Quinn shouted, raising her crossbow. Lambert grabbed his sword with his off hand and lifted it, throwing the blade in front of himself as another crossbow bolt exploded over his shield as he charged forward, raising the blade up. _Five left now. _Quinn started to cycle the bolt on her weapon, but Lambert, propelled by his rage, closed much faster than Quinn expected. Quinn felt ice coalesce in her stomach as Lambert slid one foot out, bracing for a wild swing.

"I've had enough of you!" Lambert roared. Quinn started to grab her knife, but the memory of the shattered blade immediately came rushing back, and her stomach completely dropped out. She started to try to duck, but she knew it was too late.

"Not yet!"

Talon laughed aloud as he ducked and disappeared again, reappearing just behind Quinn. He grabbed her around the waist and swept her off her feet, dropping down over her, dipping her low as the blade swung over his head, ripping his hood back. Quinn yelped and wrapped her arms around his neck as he leaped away as the blade arced backwards, sending Lambert stumbling away. Talon grinned down at the blushing Demacian tracker, though his smile faltered and he gritted his teeth. Quinn's hand, draped over his shoulder, came away bloody. Talon hissed softly as long brown hair fell around his and Quinn's faces, isolating them for a brief moment.. "That's two you owe me. Perhaps you'd like to pay me back now rather than later?"

Quinn scrambled out of his grasp and took a step away, taking a deep breath and shaking her head, clearing the color from her cheeks. She clapped her hands on her cheeks and took a second deep breath.

"Stop ignoring me, damnit!" Lambert snarled as he swung the blade about wildly in one hand. He could barely keep it aloft with only one hand, but he swung it about his body and propped it on his shoulder. His eyes were wild and fierce now, blood covered his face and pooled around him. He raised the hilt of his blade to his face, a crystalline flask grasped in his fingers as he snapped the stopper atop the flask free. He emptied the contents of the potion into his mouth and let his head hang back as a vicious crimson glow began to encircle his body.

"What's he doing..." Quinn muttered as she tried to shake off the Noxian assassin's moves towards her.

"Wrath..." Talon murmured softly. "More artifacts that were robbed from the Arcanus Majorum." Talon shook his head and swept an arm in front of Quinn. "He's empowering himself with artifacts that were plundered from the vaults of the Institute of War. I had heard the reports that weapons had been stolen, but I had seen nothing about the theft of any potions of any sort. Not of that strength." Talon started for his cloak, and Quinn turned her bow on him, jumping slightly. "Easy, babe..." Talon muttered, freezing for a moment. Quinn took a deep breath, lowering her weapon and nodding slowly once. Talon shook his head and dug into one of the pockets of his cloak, hissing as he tugged it the wrong way over his shoulder. "Here." He grabbed Quinn's hand and opened it as if he was going to drop something into her hand but he froze and then blushed, glancing away with a frown. A small crystalline phial was clutched in his hand and Quinn recognized it as a typical health potion. "Sorry, I guess you're stuck at only owing me two."

Quinn took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly before looking up at Talon. She swept up towards him and pressed her lips to his cheek, smiling and blushing as she bounced backwards. "That's one for a start." She winked at the Noxian.

"Uh..." Talon mumbled. It was his turn to blush furiously.

Quinn raised her crossbow and cocked it, exhaling softly. "Now, if you please, I have work to finish."

"Die!" Lambert snarled as he brought the sword down between the Demacian and the Noxian, sending them both bouncing away. Talon disappeared and Quinn rolled away, bringing her crossbow up. She snapped off a shot, but the bolt missed high.

Quinn cursed herself and her excitement. _Four left!_

"Fuck off!" Lambert snarled as he rolled away, ducking behind the tree, fumbling with something in his cloak. The sound of several metal objects hitting the stone and bouncing away could be heard.

"Hiding already?" Quinn shouted, cycling the bolt on her crossbow and glancing around. There were a few splotches of blood but Talon looked as he had completely disappeared. Quinn glanced around, keeping her weapon trained towards the tree that Lambert had taken cover behind. _Talon is still around. I can sense his presence. _Quinn forced her attention back to the tree. _Talon can wait. _"Done already, Lambert? Just give yourself up and I'll let you live!"

"You're funny!" The voice echoed from behind the tree. Quinn heard a mechanical latch click shut and the familiar clicking of a revolver's hammer getting cocked. Lambert swept out from behind the tree, the revolver leveled at Quinn. The crack of the weapon firing echoed through the quiet air, but it missed high and right; Quinn was already on the move, diving and rolling to the side. Two more shots rang out as Quinn spun away towards the edge, raising her crossbow and letting a bolt fly, aimed at Lambert's chest. Lambert started to turn his body to dodge, starting to throw his blade up in front of himself to bring up the shield, but he didn't manage to dodge the bolt in time and it sank into his shoulder. He snarled as he started to topple backwards towards the outside cliff.

The shrill screech of a diving eagle cut through the darkness.

"Gouge out his eyes, Valor!" Quinn shouted as she dove and cycled the bolt of her crossbow. _Only three rounds left!_

Valor screeched again as he dove, his claws borne as he crashed into Lambert in a ball of feathers and shrieking from both Valor and Lambert. A gunshot rang out as Valor fluttered away, violently climbing away from Lambert as the man stumbled backwards towards the cliff, a constant stream of profanity pouring from the Noxian as he held his forearm over his face, the blade clutched in his hand.

"AGH! STUPID FUCKING BITCH!" Lambert snarled; blood was pouring from the tattered remnants of his right eye socket. "FUCKING FUCKING FUCK!" He started to go over the edge, his good eye going wide, his voice frozen in his throat as his foot dropped, finding no purchase. Another gunshot rang out as he tumbled out of sight.

Something warm started to grow on Quinn's arm. She looked down, taking the brief moment of pause from Lambert to look down at the wound that was growing on her arm. She hissed softly as she tugged back her cloak. The bullet had only grazed her, but it still hurt like hell. Quinn clasped her hand over her arm and blinked the pain away despite her eyes stinging and starting to tear up. She shook her head and started towards the edge, looking down the side of the cliff. The ground leveled out into a brief shelf of trees before it fell away again into the marshes. Even in the dim light, she could see the path Lambert's fall had left on the side of the cliff, down to the shelf.

Valor circled above the shelf, squawking at her.

"I know he's still down there." Quinn said, looking down at the wound in her arm. Blood was still pouring from the wound, but it was already starting to clot. She looked away from the wound, forming a fist with her hand and wincing as pain shot through her arm. "Unless I have a body, this fight isn't over. We either need his head or we need him. You know this."

Valor hooted angrily at her reckless attitude, but Quinn ignored the bird's derisive tone.

"I know!" Quinn spat back. "Watch my back, I need to' find him." Quinn ignored the birds response as she started down the mountain side, jumping over the edge and skidding down the side, descending into the gorge. The solid was rocked but came away easily, and Quinn descended into the gorge quickly, following the path Lambert had already carved into the mountainside.

She stumbled down onto the shelf, glancing around into the scraggly, wind swept trees that clung to the rocky shelf. She kept her weapon raised and paused, looking down at the ground. _He hasn't disappeared. He can't have._ She frowned as she looked down at the ground, looking for prints in the mud and snow. Valor descended next to her, though he was still circling. Quinn looked up at Valor, but he was scanning the area, trying to find Lambert. _Even Val can't see him._

"Find him, Val." Quinn carefully picked her way through the trees, following tracks and a bloody trail towards the cliff and the final descent towards the icy marshes below. Quinn paused as she reached the cliff side, kneeling down as she looked out over the marshes. The tracks disappeared at the edge. _Where did he-..._

_Cl-click._

Quinn exhaled slowly as she closed her eyes. _Fuck. _The sensation of metal was pressed to the back of her head.

"I know what you're thinking." Lambert sneered, anger and scorn in his voice. "'Did he fire six shots or only five?'" He chuckled softly to himself, keeping the gun barrel pressed to the back of Quinn's head. "To be honest, you little bitch, in all this excitement I've lost track of it myself. I've got to say, I don't really know what this thing is going to do to your head from this range." He nudged her sharply and Quinn growled. "If you're lucky, it'll blow you head clean off and you won't suffer. So I have to ask you one final question: 'Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, bitch?"

Valor screeched as he dove at Lambert, catching his on the side of the head. Lambert snarled as the gun cracked as it went off, and he tumbled forward over Quinn, sending them both tumbling forward over the cliff, rolling down the cliffside.

Quinn's eyes teared over as she struck a rock, stars exploding in front of her face.

Darkness filled her vision for long moments, her ears ringing like a struck bell.

Quinn felt the cold sensation of ice on her back as she opened her eyes, looking into the sky as clouds rolled past, revealing the moon. She groaned as she sat up, pain shooting through her head. She looked around; she was sitting in the snow on the banks of the marshes under the cover of a gnarled tree. In front of her, the ice covered marshlands spread out as far as Quinn could see. As she slowly turned, looking around her, something faded from the mist that swirled above the ice. "Val? VALOR!"

The eagle lay crumpled on the ice, one wing held at an odd angle, as Valor struggled to get to his feet. He was struggling about, pushing himself awkwardly along the ice, a bloody streak following in his wake. Quinn slid herself over to the bird and helped him onto his talons, the eagle hooting a weak thank you.

"Let me see your wing." Quinn demanded as Valor started to turn away.

Valor squawked weakly as he shook his head, but the bird withered slightly when Quinn glared at him.

"Wing, now." Quinn ordered firmly. Valor shivered his feathers in an annoyed fashion but held his wing out for the tracker to see. Quinn careful pushed a few select feathers aside and saw that a few feathers that been ripped away. She sighed a breath of relief and then tugged Valor over to hug him. The eagle squawked in surprise. "You're lucky, birdbrain! That could have easily killed you!"

Valor hooted derisively at Quinn as he hopped away and spread his wings, trying to take off. He flapped once but crashed to the ice in a bundle of feather and talons. He slowly clambered to his talons again with some help from Quinn, and then extended his wing to its full extension. There was a sizable gap where four or five of the eagle's primaries were missing, and as Quinn inspected the damage, she noticed the first four secondaries were missing too.

"He really did a number on you, didn't he?" Quinn said laughing softly at the eagle's awkwardly held wing.

Valor hooted softly once, but stopped the sound halfway through. The feathers on his neck flared as he shrieked violently, hopping up and down. Quinn felt ice form in her veins as she threw herself to the side.

Lambert's sword struck the surface of the lake at the edge of the marsh, sending a geyser of ice and water into the air, raining Quinn with flecks of ice and water as she slid away on her knees. The ice shuddered underneath her, faint spiderweb like cracks appearing in the clear ice. She carefully picked herself up, looking up at the assailant.

"This… This ends now." Lambert looked crazed, his breathing heavy, dirt and blood covering half of his face, pouring from the massive gashes that had consumed his eye. His chest heaved, both arms hanging at his side. Bandages wrapped around his hand, binding his fingers around the hilt of his sword, wrapping up his forearms and about the crossguard of the blade. It didn't howl now, but it glowed with a vicious sheen as blood dripped from Lambert's arm, running down the blade. His other arm was in ruins, blood wept from the wound in his arm freely. "I may not be able to use any of my fingers… but I don't need them to kill you!"

Lambert charged forward, swinging the blade wildly upwards onto his shoulder so his could bring it down. Quinn dropped below the arc of his wild swing, the rush of air surrounding the crimson blade billowing the hair on her neck. Quinn rolled to the side and came up as Lambert's blade went wide, striking the ice, hard. It bounced once, and started away, pulling Lambert away from Quinn. He skidded to a stop a handful of yards away on a single knee. His breathing was ragged and Quinn could see why, blood was beginning to pour profusely from the wounds in his arm, running down the blade. Its sheen was growing brighter and more malicious now that its appetite, its thirst for blood, had been whetted.

_The blade's lust is consuming him. _Quinn shivered, watching as Lambert dropped his shoulder and prepared for another charge. _I need to rid him of that weapon before it consumes him completely. _Quinn yanked the action on her crossbow back. _Only two rounds left._

Lambert charged, and Quinn fired off a shot, forcing the man to duck behind the blade, slowing his charge just enough that Quinn was ready for him this time. Lambert forced himself to carry through the charge, bearing down on the tracker, the blade raised up. Quinn dropped low, as if she were going to dip and roll, but as the blade came down like a headman's axe, she ducked to the side and rose up. The blade struck the ice, hard, carving a divot deep into the surface as it bounced up just as Quinn produced a small blade and ran it up Lambert's forearm, slicing through the bandages. Quinn used all of her weight to sink the blade into the crook of Lambert's arm. The man screamed as the blade left his grasp and skittered away, disappearing into the swirling mist of the swamp.

"Fucking-..." Lambert hissed as he stumbled away, both of his arms now hanging at his side. He raised the arm he hadn't used before, the gun in hand, but as he tried to pull the trigger, it fumbled and fell of his grip. Lambert snarled in anger as he looked down at his other arm; a short bladed silver knife extended from his elbow. "How did-... This is one of Talon's knives… you… you little wench!"

Quinn cycled the action on her crossbow and leveled it at Lambert's head. "This ends now, bastard."

"You have one bolt left." Lambert said, slowly stepping towards the ice. "You really going to use it on me?"

Quinn smirked. "No. Because I don't feel like carrying you back to Demacia myself. Now move."

"You're mad if you think I'm going back to Demacia." Lambert snarled. "I'd rather die!"

"That can be arranged." Quinn snapped back.

"And kill me?" Lambert laughed sharply. "You're as stupid as you are naive! If you want me, come and stop me!" He turned and started out onto the ice. Valor hopped in front of him and shrieked, but Lambert aimed a kick at the bird, sending it hopping away in a flutter of feathers.

"You won't make it across!" Quinn shouted after him. "The ice is too thin!"

Lambert glanced left and right along the coast as he took another uneasy step out onto the ice that covered the marsh. Quinn boxed him in from the north, and as Lambert wiped blood from his brow where the eagle had gashed him onto his shoulder, he had to turn further to simply put eyes on the bird as it hopped around him towards the south. Lambert smiled: he had been driven here expertly by the girl and her damned bird. He took another step, further out onto the ice. While he was trapped on the ice, the girl had only one arrow and the bird was confined to the ground thanks to pistol. He growled, slowly moving further out onto the ice. It pinged a few times, but the ice didn't flex under his feet.

"See?" He laughed at Quinn. "You can't stop me! You won't stop me!"

"Don't be stupid!" Quinn shouted after him. "The ice has already thawed! Any further and you'll fall right through and drown! Do the smart thing and turn yourself in-I can guarantee your safety!"

"Safety?" Lambert snarled sarcastically as he slid another foot out further, shifting his weight slightly more cautiously than before. "Why be safe when I have two traitors to turn in? A little bit of safety or fame, fortune, and all the women and ale I can handle?" Lambert made a show of laughing sharply, trying to put malice into his tone. "You may be pretty, even for a little girl, but Talon can have you for all I care! Booze, easy women, and the fortune as the next great Noxian inquisitor famed for rooting out the two biggest spies in our history? That is the dream, girl, and unless you're willing to come out here and stop me, you can go fuck yourself!"

"I'm warning you, the ice is too thin!" Quinn shouted. "One wrong step and you could disappear, just like that!"

"Hardly." Lambert said, laughing boastfully, despite the trail of blood that he had led out onto the ice. He raised his foot to tap the ice in a showy manner.

"Wait!" Quinn shouted. "Don't!"

His foot struck the surface. He glared at Quinn, smiling imperiously. "See?" Nothing happ-..."

Pinging through the ice cut the man's boasting off immediately. His face went pale as pings bounced about the marsh from side to side, back and forth.

The painfully slow sound of a crack starting to form cut through the silence. An oddly serene quiet followed for only a brief moment before Lambert disappeared with a splash, falling through as the ice cracked beneath him.

"No!" Quinn snarled as she sprinted forward along the thicker edge of the ice. She gritted her teeth and dove as gracefully as she could, skidding out across the ice towards the hole that had claimed Lambert as its quarry. She reached the hole without incident, and stared into the murky depths of the icy water; Lambert was nowhere to be seen. "Damnit!" Quinn snarled angrily, looking into the depths. "Where are you, fool!?" She watched the surface for a brief moment as the bubbles slowly died down to nothing. "This is bad... I'm going to regret this..." Quinn took a deep breath as she plunged her hand into the water and started to feel around. There was nothing around the edge of the hole, only chunks of ice striking her arm as they bobbed. Quinn withdrew her hand and hissed a silent curse, the water was deathly cold. "I swear, If he's not dead, I'll kill him myself!"

Quinn took a deep breath and plunged her arm into the water up to her shoulder, and started to feel around the edge of the hole. She was almost all the way around the hole when she finally brushed her hand against fabric. Quinn grabbed a hold and heaved, yanking the fabric bound Noxian towards the hole. He tried to resist, but with nothing to hold onto, and only the slick ice to try and fight against, he slid to the hole without issue. Quinn started to drag him onto the ice, but he thrashed, pushing back against the ice, starting to drag the tracker into the icy water with him.

"No, no, No, NO!" Quinn stared to panic, but Valor grabbed her pant leg with his beak and heaved her backwards, his talons finding greater purchase on the ice. Quinn pulled the Noxian out of the water, spluttering and frustrated, sending him swirling backwards away from the hole.

"No! Stop! Just let me go!" Lambert snarled. He raised his arm to try and break through the ice with his elbow, but when he brought it down, his elbow bounced and the ice echoed, rippling slightly under Quinn. She hissed and slid herself forward as she pulled herself onto her knees in her slide. She raised an arm as she slid forward, punching Lambert in the jaw.

He fell silent and still, collapsing down onto the ice.

Quinn rolled onto her back and took a deep breath, holding it for a brief moment before exhaling heavily. Valor bounced forward, his talon's clicking on the ice. His wing was still held at an odd angle. Quinn giggled softly at the odd sight and Valor hooted at her, though his tone wasn't as harsh as it had been previously.

"It's finally done, Val." Quinn murmured, closing her eyes and taking another deep breath. "It's finally over."

Valor hooted, standing over his partner. Quinn opened her eyes and smiled as she reached up and scratched Valor on the chest, smiling at the eagle.

"I know I couldn't have done it without you." Quinn chuckled softly as she rolled and struggled into a sitting position and then looked about. Quinn took a deep breath as she started towards the shore on her stomach, dragging Lambert alongside her over the ice.

* * *

**Author's note**: Sorry for the long delay on this chapter, I've been busy and I had someone who was going to beta read the story for me, but they never got around to it. The fifth and final part of Cataclysm: Demacian Ranger will be out soon.


	5. Part V

Quinn looked around, frowning as the fire started to climb higher, licking at the wood and putting off a decent billow of flames. Lambert lay next to the flames, wrapped in a heavy blanket, his hands tied and his wounds tended to. They wouldn't get infected, but they wouldn't be healing any time soon either. The wounds were disabling enough that all Quinn had to do was bind his hands and his feet and he was unable to move. The tracker smiled to herself; the Noxian looked like a stuffed chicken where he lay on the ground, but he had obviously just given in to his exhaustion and passed out despite the pain. Valor's wounds had been tended too as well, and while the bird could not fly at the moment, he sat perched near the fire, nestled in a makeshift nest of leaves that he had collected, stuffing them into a bowl in the snow he had dug out. Valor had made his roost between Quinn and Lambert, ensuring that the man, no matter how injured, would have to go through him first. The eagle had tucked his beak into his his wing as he slept, his chest rising and falling deeply..

_Sleep well, friend. You've more than earned it._

Quinn pushed herself to her feet, and started away, pausing for a brief moment as Valor shivered, shaking his feathers out before tucking his beak under his wounded wing. Quinn stifled a giggle and a smile as she stepped away from the camp, pushing through the snow as the sun started to rise over the hills that had formed the small bowl Quinn had sought shelter within. In the dark of the night the last of the cloud cover had been pushed off by the heavy winds over the coast, though much of the wind slowed as they approached the jagged coast line and struggled to make it over the sheer cliffs. Some of the wind made it all the way over the forests, cliffs, and mountains, but by the time it reached this far inland, it had been bleached of all of its sea-side charm.

Quinn paused in a small clearing and looked about, scanning the trees for movement. Something shuddered in one of the trees, but a gust of wind shrouded the sound and Quinn couldn't pick it out from all of the other trees that circled the edge of the clearing.

"Talon?" Quinn took a deep breath and looked around, hoping for a response. She waited for a few moments, holding her breath, but no response came. "Talon, I know you're out there! I only want to talk to you!" Quinn listened intently for several long moments, but no sound could be heard amid the rustling of the trees billowing against the gentle wind. Quinn frowned as she stopped, dropping down to a squat, hugging her knees to her chest. She ran a hand along the surface of the snow, her fingers following the contours of the older tracks that had been left in the snow. She frowned as she examined the boot prints; there was something slightly off about them. Quinn ran her fingers along the inside of the tread and smiled, there was a slight indentation in each tread mark.

_He's somewhere around here…_

Quinn padded about slowly, looking at the snow and examining the areas around the trees. Under each, there was ice and the frozen drips that had fallen into the snow leaving a jagged, wild pattern all around the base of the tree. Quinn ran her fingers along the top of the bumpy surface of the ice, but they came away clean and only slightly damp. She frowned as she pushed herself up and moved to another tree, continuing to run her fingers along the ice. Nothing a second time. Quinn approached the third tree and kneeled down, going through the motion of running her fingers along the ice, but she had already seen what she was looking for. There were fresh pine needles along the surface of the ice and faint crushed remnants of bark that dirtied her fingers when she ran them along the ice.

_Bingo._

Quinn rose up and backed away from the tree as she had done with the previous two, though she did not proceed to a new tree this time. Quinn dropped her hand to her hip and flexed it around the grip of her crossbow, her smile growing on her face. Quinn spun and raised her bow, snapping off a shot at the trunk of the last tree she had check, the heavy thunk of the bolt striking heavily and shaking the branches.

"Son of a… fuck!" The deep voice barked a stream of expletives as a cloaked figure dropped from the tree and landed on his tail at the base of the tree, a gentle rain of pine needles following him down. Talon threw his hood back and glared up at Quinn with anger in his expression. "What the hell was that for!?" He snarled, glancing from the tree, back to Quinn. "You nearly hit me you crazy-..."

Quinn dropped to a knee in front of Talon, lowering her crossbow towards his knee. "You really want to finish that?" Quinn asked with a withering frown.

Talon glared up at her before sighing heavily and shaking the pine needles from his brown hair. "You're crazy, you know that?"

A smile spread on Quinn's face as she nodded. "But I never miss." She giggled softly as she offered a hand to the Noxian. Talon glanced at it but shied away, instead choosing to push himself to his feet. Talon started to stand up, but received a fist to the gut, dropping him back onto his ass. Talon exhaled heavily as he slid back through the ice a short distance before coming to a halt. He groaned as he looked up at Quinn a mask of confusion covering her anger.

"What the fuck was that?" Talon snarled. Quinn stuck a hand into his face, the tracker's pissed off demeanor clear in her expression. Talon grumbled but accepted the hand this time, letting Quinn help him to his feet.

"That makes us even, right?" Quinn said with a cheeky grin. Talon's face blanked for a brief moment, and Quinn took the moment to laugh aloud at the dumb expression. "Come warm up by the fire and talk with me for a few minutes. I'll get your arm patched up."

"Tch." Talon disappeared with a swirl of his his cloak, leaving Quinn standing along in the clearing.

"Wha-... what?" Quin blustered, color flooding his face as she stomped a foot. "That jerk!" She hissed, looking about. "I was trying to help him, too!" Quinn paused, fingering the knife that was tucked in the pocket of her cloak. It belonged to Talon, one she had taken when she had tried using her feminine charm, and while their little game of tit-for-tat was mostly bluster, she had wanted to return the weapon so she wouldn't truly be in his debt. She frowned and posted her hands on her hips. "Fine. Be that way. It's not like I was just trying to be nice. ...idiot."

Quinn walked back into her makeshift camp and dropped down next to the fire, clutching her knees to her chest. She pulled out the weapon that she had used to turn the tide of the battle in her favor, running a finger along the side of the blade. It curved up to a point at one tip, though the majority of the blade had a gentle, inward curve, leaving the weapon with a very shallow angle, the handle at one end, the tip at the other. The was a shallow fuller in the blade, and the weapon had been built for utility not just combat. The angled blade would give the swinger leverage for chopping through underbrush or something larger, more fleshy, and decidedly more gruesome. Quinn was fingering the blade, imagining the possible uses as a light gust of wind brushed up against her.

"What did you want to talk about?" Talon asked from beside Quinn. Quinn yelped and jumped, Valor squawking and flapping wildly for a brief moment before settling down in his roost, looking about. He squawked at Talon, but the assassin held up empty hands, showing his palms to the bird and Valor dropped his head back down to his side, though he kept an eye glued to Talon.

"You really like startling people, don't you?" Quinn muttered with an accusing glare, breaking the awkward staring contest between Talon and Valor.

Talon shrugged as he narrowed his eyes at Valor for a few moments before turning back to the tracker. "What can I say. You're cute when you're surprised." Talon sucked in a breath and glanced away as he blushed.

"What was that?" Quinn asked with an amused, almost predatory grin, despite the color flooding her face.

"Nothing." Talon said, coughing into his hand. He cleared his throat, returning the deep, angry tone to his voice. "What do you want?"

"Take off your shirt." Quinn said, turning herself towards Talon, an excited smile on her face as she dragged her bag towards her and the Noxian.

Talon blinked once before he toppled backwards and rolled to the side, stunned. It took him several long moments of scrambling before he managed to right himself, coming up with a brilliant red face. "What!? Why?!"

"W-wha-..." Quinn blinked twice before her face turned red. "N-no! Not like that, i-idiot!" Quinn managed to connect a punch on the assassin's arm, and she was rewarded with a hiss of pain escaping Talon's lips. Quinn sunk back in surprise, blushing slightly. "Sorry… I suppose I've been in company with people who can take a punch a bit better than you. Are you alright?"

Talon wore an indignant look on his face as he puffed out his chest. "I'm fine." A grin started to spread on Quinn's face. "Because you hit like a girl. No way that could hurt me."

"Why you-…" The seething in Quinn's voice was obviously enough to scare the Noxian, because he raised his hands in surrender. Quinn scowled at him before surging towards the assassin and started tugging Talon's cloak off. "H-here, idiot. You got wounded helping me. I just want to bandage your arm, you dirty minded old man."

"Old?" Talon turned and glared at Quinn. "Who are you calling 'old'? I'm only a few years older than you!"

"Sure whatever." Quinn said, rolling her eyes and trying to play it off, despite how furiously she was blushing. She ducked away, making a big show of digging through her bag, pulling out gauze, bandages, some soap and a small pan. She scooped some snow into the pan and then set it on the fire, the remnant snow off the outside of the pan sizzling away as it got lost in the smoke rising from the wood. "Just take it-your cloak-off so I can clean your wound and bandage it up. It's the least I can do as thanks for saving me."

"I thought we were even?" Talon said, raising an eyebrow as he slid the cloak off and peeled his tunic off, revealing a bloody mess down his front. Talon frowned, glancing over at Quinn. Her cheeks were blushed and she held something to her chest that he couldn't see, but the nervous tracker suddenly had become a far more daunting opponent than before Her eyes were a bright golden color, shimmering a smooth orange in the fire light, and her dark hair had a warm, sunny sheen to it despite the darkness of the early, early morning.

"I wanted to return something to you." Quinn said softly, holding Talon's knife out for the assassin to take back. "I know I stole it, but I'm returning it now and I hope I can even the score up when I bandage your wounds. Sound fair to you?"

Talon accepted the knife, surprise plastering his face. "Wait, but when did you manage to steal one of my knives?" Talon murmured slightly bashfully.

"When I kissed you on the cheek." Quinn said, blushing slightly. "I needed to distract you and make Lambert angry so he would swing more wildly. His rage was making him lose control…" Quinn giggled nervously. "It worked, I guess."

Talon blushed as he remembered the kiss she had given him. There was in the chill in the air as Talon went to pull his cloak tighter over his shoulder, but he froze. _Wait, what?_ Talon looked down. "My shirt! But wait, where did…" He glanced over as Quinn whistled innocently to herself, folding the bloodied tunic up and setting it on top of his neatly folded cloak. "When did you…" He ran a hand over his face, running it up through his bangs. "_How _exactly did you manage that?"

Quinn blushed slightly but she gave Talon a superior grin, turning her nose up. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Quinn looked proud of herself as she drug the last of her supplies to her side.

Talon glanced over at his cloak and a grin broke out on his face as he looked at where a throwing knife from inside his cloak had disappeared from its holster. "A distraction? Smooth as silk. I _am_ impressed." He started to turn to look at Quinn but the tracker pressed a pad of gauze onto his shoulder. Talon hissed angrily, though he caught Quinn blushing a furious shade of red. She pulled it back and it came away clean bloody. "Now if only you would do that with my pants." Quinn pushed the gauze firmly against his shoulder. "Ow, ow, OW, _OW! _That hurts!"

"Stay still or it'll hurt even more, idiot!" Quinn snapped as she pulled some gauze away and pulled the pan from the fire. It was steaming, but it hadn't been allowed to reach a boil. "Lean towards me, I need to clean the wound. This might sting a bit, but you can take it right?" Talon bit at the inside of his cheek but nodded, leaning towards her. Quinn lifted the pan of water and poured a little over his shoulder, using some of the gauze to scrub away dried blood. Quinn watched as his muscles tensed and flexed with every brush of his gauze and felt her cheeks burn with color. Satisfied the majority of the blood was gone, Quinn sat back and let the shoulder dry in the warmth of the fire. She glared at Talon, the young assassin glancing about sheepishly, refusing to meet her glare.

"Sorry." Talon muttered, his shoulders drooping as he finally met Quinn's glare. "Force of habit. In Noxus, strength is everything, but intimidation is just as powerful. I hope you don't think any less of me for it."

Quinn's frown slackened and she shrugged after several moments of searching Talon's face for sincerity. "I understand. I'm used to it. In my village, we often had new soldiers coming and going, seeing as we were relatively close to the border, and it didn't help that the main road lead to one of the border fortresses. Growing up around so many soldiers only forces you to adapt to the culture that much quicker. That's why I wanted to be a knight. The knights were always so proud and regal… they were the pinnacle of justice and morality compared to the glorified thugs that served as the infantry on the front lines."

"When did that change?" Talon asked, his attention settled on Quinn now. The tracker glanced over at him and blushed slightly at how rapt his attention was settled on her.

"Well…" Quinn frowned for a moment before sighing and shrugging, holding a rolled up bandage in one hand and a wad of gauze in the other. "There was a period of time after I lost my brother to an accident that I was bound and determined to be a doctor so I wouldn't let anyone else die if I had a choice." Quinn's hands convulsed around the medical supplies as she glanced down as if she were fighting back tears. "My mother was a nurse of sorts. Not quite a doctor, but for most of the year she was the best medical treatment available to the village. We didn't have money for doctors or fancy health potions and the like, so we had to make due. I poured over her medical textbooks for hundreds of hours, endlessly teaching myself everything I could read."

"I suppose that explains your skill with medicine." Talon mused, glancing down at Quinn's hand as she ran it gently over his shoulder. He blushed, but Quinn ignored him and dragged him closer with the wounded arm. "It doesn't explain your brutish bedside manner."

"I can use this gauze to shut your damned mouth if you would prefer." Quinn said with a smile that sent a shiver down Talon's back.

Talon shook his head sheepishly. "No ma'am."

"Good, good." Quinn laughed lightly, easing the mood. Quinn set about the bandages and started to wrap gauze over and around his shoulder. The wound was high on his shoulder, just beyond his collar bone, and Quinn had to wrap bandages all the way around his chest to ensure it wouldn't slide off if he moved. She looped it around his chest and shoulder a few more times, finally tying the bandage off over his shoulder. Every time Quinn had to lean against Talon's arm to get all the way around his chest, she could feel the assassin tense up. She realized what was happening though the last time she pressed up against him, her chest pressed firmly against his arm. "You talk a big game, Talon, but you're not very good around women, are you?"

Talon hung his head and blushed slightly. "I get more than my fair share of punishment in the form of my adoptive sisters. One is massively domineering… the other is half snake."

Quinn laughed, catching an odd glare from Talon. She shook her head and offered his an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I'm just laughing at how similar we are. You serve Katarina, and I Jarvan. Your sister is half snake… Shyvana is half dragon. We both sneak around, watching people and taking orders from them both."

"It hurts to think about it when you say it like that." Talon said, sinking down. He hissed slightly at the pain in his shoulder, shivering slightly against the wind. "Can I have my shirt back, please?"

"Let's check." Quinn mused as she poked the wound with a firm but slow motion.

"Ow, ow, enough already. It already hurts enough." Talon growled, sinking away from her finger. "You don't need to make it worse."

Quinn jabbed him in the side and caused him to jump "Shut yer trap or it'll hurt more. I was just checking to make sure the gauze won't move and to make sure the bleeding has stopped."

Talon rubbed his side but shut his mouth, grumbling under his breath.

The sun just broke over the edge of the horizon, rays of light cutting through the sky above them. Quinn glanced up and pushed herself to her feet. "Valor." The bird sat up instantly and hooted at her. "I know you're still tired, but we're not done yet. We still have to deliver our charge." The bird snapped at her a few times but got onto his talons and started hopping around. "Go find Colonel Jerome and guide him here. I don't feel like dealing with dragging all this dead weight around." She kicked Lambert once, the man groaning and shifting slightly against his bindings. Valor squawked at her once before spreading his wings and taking to the sky.

"You won't have much time left." Quinn said, handing Talon his cloak and tunic. "The trap will start closing soon and you don't want to get caught in it."

"You're letting me go?" There was a moment of surprise in Talon's voice.

"You saved my life once. I'm merely returning the favor." Quinn offered him a smile.

"I'm not leaving in your debt." Talon said, grinning crookedly. "Here, take this." He held the knife out to the tracker. "You broke your other one right? The least you can do is use it till you replace it."

"I… uh…" Quinn blushed slightly as the assassin pushed the blade into her hands, color flooding her cheeks. "Thanks."

"That makes us even then." Talon announced, as if he were relieved. Quinn frowned slightly as he turned away. "Though if it weren't for the charity I would be in the lead." There was a smugness in his voice that struck a nerve with the tracker. A sly smile spread over Quinn's lips.

"Hey, Talon." Quinn said as she grabbed his good shoulder. The assassin turned.

Quinn leaned forward and kissed Talon full on.

The tracker was blushing furiously as Talon stood, frozen in his tracks, aghast. Quinn smiled up at him as the shock slowly melted from his expression. "I guess that leaves me in the advantage, huh?" Quinn said, her voice ever so sing-song in tone as her grin turned cheeky. "I guess we're rivals now, right?"

"Uh…" Talon mumbled, dumbfounded.

Valor screeched from above as he circled once and then departed towards the horizon a second time.

"Valor says that Demacian forces are closing in on us now." Quinn said, sighing softly. "You should go. I've got more than enough to turn into them with this fool." She prodded Lambert with a foot. The man grunted but said nothing in his still dazed form.

"Oh." Talon said, dismay sneaking into his voice. "I guess this is goodbye then. Will I see you aga-..." Quinn pressed a finger to his lips and shook her head.

"No goodbyes. Not yet." Quinn said, pain creeping into her smile.

"We part ways as rivals, Talon, because that's all we could ever be. Maybe in time you'll be able to out do me, but for now I leave with the advantage. Now go, before the dragnet closes. If you make for Golden Crossing, you'll have to deal with Garen's vanguards, but I think with the coming storm, and with a little help from Lambert here," she kicked the Noxian at her feet, "I should be able to lift the heat on you."

"I hope." Talon grumbled, shaking his head. "It's bad enough that Katarina and that infernal lunkhead of a Demacian Captain see something in each other. Me personally? The only thing bigger than Garen's sword is his ego."

"Scandalous." Quinn laughed, grinning at Talon. He returned the smile, bringing a tinge of color to the tracker's cheeks. She turned away and forced herself to take a deep breath. "Go, before I decide that your bandage needs to be rewrapped."

"Take care of yourself."

"You as well." Quinn waited for a response, but there was nothing waiting for her but the cold bite of the wind. She sighed softly, looking back over her shoulder.

Talon was gone.


	6. Part VI

**Author's Note:** I lied. Have a part six. Enjoy!

* * *

When Jerome and his men had arrived, they were silent, working quickly. They trussed and wrapped this body, suspending him on a long spear between two men. The scouts didn't remain long, immediately departing with escorts to return to the city with their prison in school. They had left Jerome and two of his men with Quinn as she waited for Jerome's word of approval, but there was silence for many long moments before the tracker cleared her throat.

"What charges will he face when he reaches Demacia?" Quinn asked, breaking the silence.

"It's likely he'll never see a true trial." Nero, the warrior lieutenant of Colonel Jerome said with a tired shrug.

"What?" Quinn asked lamely. Valor pecked at her boot, flapping his injured wing weakly. Quinn glanced down and nodded with a frown, picking the eagle up and setting him on her shoulder Valor hooted his thanks, tucking his wings into his side. "But what about his crimes?"

"Fair trial is reserved for those with reasonable doubt and lacking evidence." Nero growled, a cold grin settling on his face.

"You know as well as I do, Nero, those trials are nothing more than a dog and pony show used to sentence and punish criminals so the Demacian people can keep themselves on a pedestal compared to the rest of Runeterra." Helena's voice was that of scathing disapproval.

"You sound as if you don't like it." Quinn said softly.

"My family faced the taste of Demacian Justice a long time ago." Helena snarled, clenching her fists before releasing it a moment later. "It nearly ended them all, myself included, but in the end, we were only cleared when the true culprit came to light."

"The system succeeded then, yes?" Quinn said, frowning.

"You may not understand the workings of the high class citizens of the capital city because you're just a common farm girl, but that accusal would have ended my life and the life of my family in a matter of hours." Helena growled. "There is no investigation, no evidence, simply the moral obligation of a Demacian to volunteer himself if he is guilty. The crushing moral guilt and pressure… even if you didn't do it, if someone thinks it was you, it doesn't take long for it to spread. You, farm girl…"

"Enough, Helena." Nero barked, waving the cloaked woman off. "She may not possess the positions, the upbringing, or the knowledge, but she can always learn. Besides, her skills as a tracker trump even Telvey."

"No one tops Telvey." Helena growled.

"Quinn is here and Telvey is not." Jerome said evenly as he glanced at Quinn. "That alone should speak volumes. And watch your tone, Helena. She may be young, but she's already famous."

"Famous?" Quinn repeated blinking a few times. "What do you mean?"

Nero grinned. "Your name is already circulating through the city. The people may not know about all the men you and Jarvan's soldiers dealt with, but they certainly know that you are the one who brought a Noxian Assassin to heel with the assistance of the last of the Demacian Eagles. Welcome to the big leagues, love."

"They say he evaded battalions upon battalions of Demacian troops, from Garen's Dauntless Vanguard to the prince himself." Helena said, her voice grand and swelling with mock pride.

"Enough Helena." Jerome growled. "We have our orders already, and you yours. Now get to it."

"Sir." There was something in Helena's eyes as she glanced at Quinn before disappearing into a tree and somewhere beyond.

_Jealousy? _

"The king wishes to debrief you, personally." Jerome said, snapping Quinn back to reality.

"The king?" Quinn said softly. Jerome nodded. Quinn's mind was thrown into a tizzy as Valor squawked excitedly. Quinn felt nervous, but her heart was pounding in excitement. "Let's go then. We shouldn't be late!"

* * *

There was a buzz of activity in the Garrison base just outside the city. Hundreds of Demacian soldiers mulled about, all wanting to get a peek at the prisoner and the hero who had captured him. Quinn had been supplied with a horse when they had reached the main road, and now she rode alongside Colonel Jerome into the camp. Nero led a small contingent of soldiers in front of Jerome and Quinn, and one of the other horses that fell between the two groups carried an extra burden. Lambert had been hogtied and draped over the flank of the horse. The clamor grew louder as they slowed to make their way through the encampment.

"What is this?" Quinn asked, looking around as they pushed through the growing crowds of refugees and soldiers. Many of the Demacian soldiers turned to riot control as the crowds began to grow rowdy, attempting to surge forward towards the prisoner.

"_Murderer! Monster! Noxian Scum! Kill him! Death is too good for the likes of him!"_

The shouts only grew louder and louder as the column of scouts pushed deeper through the refugee camps along the eastern road. Demacian troops had formed a vanguard, pushing through the crowds, parting them as they surged forward along the road towards the eastern gates, the gold dressed light grey stone rising up hundreds of feet above the messy assortment of tents and cook fires.

"There are thousands of them…" Quinn murmured, looking out over the sea of unruly civilians. Their progress forward had slowed to a crawl as they came within shouting distance of the main gate. Despite the short distance, the massive gates rising up above her like a man made mountain, there was a solid mass of people between them. "Have they all come from Kalamanda?"

"Most of them, yes." Jerome nodded as the horses came to a halt. Demacian soldiers spread out across the road, reinforcements surging forward through the crowds from the gate. "Others come from all across Demacia seeking fortune and a better life, but often times there is no place for them within the city. So they wait. Sometimes for weeks. With all of the refugees arriving though, those who have come seeking their fortune have found other ways to make their money. These camps are all a festering pit of dangerous potions, desperate fortune hunters, and centers for those searching for dwellings of ill-repute. The soldiers have tried to police these actions, but there is no room left in the jails and few MPs are left who able to police the horrific conditions within the camps."

"So that's why the army is here?" Quinn said, swiveling on her saddle, glancing back. Where the refugee tents were dirty and mismatched, the Demacian Army tents were perfect matches, as if each had been stamped from a cookie cutter. Symmetrical rows twenty deep spread out around the edges of the refugee camps as far as the eye could see, before the walls curved away from the gates of the city.

"No." Jerome said, shaking his head. "These are no MPs. The king is marshaling troops. War is coming, and everyone knows it." There was a moment of silence as Jerome shook his head and grimaced. "That's why these people are gathering. They search for an outlet for their anger at being displaced. They're driven to this madness because of their fear. They know what is coming. They know that war is knocking at our borders." The Demacian soldiers started to part the crowds, two long strings of soldiers pushing through and then parting the crowds as they slowly started spreading the refugees, pushing them back towards the road. Many of the civilians were angered by this, and someone threw a glass bottle. It exploded on the ground near the horses. Silence spread through the crowd as several Demacian soldiers surged forward into the crowd and seized a man, dragging him off towards the gates.

"What will happen to him?" Quinn asked as the gates parted and the man disappeared within the cavernous gates. A second set of gates parted beyond, the cool gray of the sky beyond peaking through the doors, silhouetting the distant majesty of the Demacian city skyline.

"He shall be given a fitting punishment." Jerome said tightly. "I doubt he shall be given a serious sentence, there is no room for such minor transgressors in our prison, and when the Demacian army marches to war, it will be likely that there will be need for laborers. He will likely end up on a labor crew for a few weeks and then he will be released."

"Weeks?" Quinn stammered. "Isn't that a bit harsh?"

"You were raised in a small farming village, yes?" Jerome glanced over, an even expression on his face. "While I would not expect you to understand to convictions of those raised in service to the crown, the justice we desire should not be foreign to you. To us in the capital, even the smallest disturbance could lead to destruction when one strays from the Demacian way and the path of righteousness and justice. That man decided to try and incite violence within the anonymity of the crowd. However, there are few who can avoid the eyes of justice and the swift hand of Demacian Retribution. He will be dealt with appropriately." There was a moment of pause as he stopped for several seconds. "I doubt he will face serious punishment. No one has the time or desire for morons like him with the current goings on in Valoran."

"I see." Quinn murmured quietly.

"You think our methods cruel, no?" There was a thin smile that played over Jerome's face. "Perhaps you think us a fascist state who sends the secret police in to do the dirty work when someone does not agree with our methods or rules. Or maybe you think us cruel and disturbed to deal with our fellow man in such a harsh manner?"

"I've seen cruel." Quinn said softly. "And this is a barely a bad joke compared to what I've seen in my short lifetime. In my village, thieves had their hands cut off. I only saw it once, but I've seen the true terror of a small border town with too few peasants and too many soldiers and what happens when they collide. I've seen entire towns wiped from the face of Runeterra by the beast we call mankind, and I've seen the horrors brought on by even worse. I know the pain of losing those close to you and the cruelties and twistedness that is what we call… _fate._" Quinn shook her head. "For too long I've had no purpose, but now…" Quinn paused as the horses started forward. She snapped the reigns of the horse, pushing the horse into a canter, catching up with Nero and his men, and Lambert where he was draped over the flanks of the horse.

They passed through the gate, and there was a transformation. Gone were the rioters and the soldiers who policed them, replaced with an honor guard of Royal Guardsman, their horses clad in brilliant golds and silvers, amazingly brilliant blues that shown a deep royal color like the sky above, accented with whites as pure as snow, and reds as deep as blood. They fell in behind and in front of Quinn and Jerome, their banners snapping in the cold gusts of wind that cut down the streets like blades of ice.

The noise was deafening.

Everywhere, both left and right, on both sides of the street, there were people. Quinn had never seen so many in her life.

Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands. There was no end to the sea of cheering Demacians. They stretched out along the streets as far as they eye could see. Streamers fell from balconies lined with thousands more cheering and screaming. They waved flags of blue and gold proudly, their cheering and the roar of feet stomping and the staccato thunder of hundreds of thousands of men and women clapping and cheering for one person.

For Quinn.

_For me._

"Take it in, young one, you earned it." Jerome said softly, a grin on his face as he watched the wonder mixed with terror playing across Quinn's face at the massive crowds.

"All of this?" Quinn spoke to herself, reaching up to put a hand on Valor. The bird was in aww, his eyes glancing about all over the place. He could barely contain his excitement, his wing tips quivering in disbelief and fear. Quinn looked up at Jerome. "Just for me? All I did was track down one man… Why all of this pomp and circumstance?"

"We're headed to the Palace." Jerome said firmly. "You may not know this, young one, but Demacia needs a hero right now. And that hero is you."

"Me?" Quinn mouthed as she looked up at the crowds that lined the streets and balconies. _All of this is for... me?_

Quinn smiled.

* * *

The king sat on his throne, looking down at Quinn as she approached and stopped just beyond the doorway into the massive hall. Hundreds of soldiers and officers filled the seats that lined each side of the massive room, banners falling from the rafters, thousands of civilians falling eerily silent as the tracker and Colonel Jerome entered the room.

Jerome laid a hand upon her shoulder. "Keep your head about you, girl, and you will do just fine."

Quinn nodded as Jerome moved forwards, stopping a handful of meters away from the steps up to the king's throne. Quinn blushed furiously as she felt the king and queen's eyes fell upon her and bowed before her cheeks could turn any more violently. Valor dropped down off her shoulder and hopped to Quinn's side before sweeping a wing across his chest and ducking his head. Quinn glanced up and blushed as the Queen smiled glowingly down at the your tracker. The king was silent for several moments before he leaned forward.

"You're younger than I thought." The king noted softly in the packed, but perfectly silent hall.

"Your highness?" Quinn asked, frowning slightly. "What do you mean?"

"My son and his guards speak very highly of you and your skills." The king mused, leaning back. "Two of your friends, I believe. Shyvana and a young corporal named Forsythe? The way they spoke of you, I expected many more years of experience to have weathered you so."

"You hardly look eightteen." The queen noted, smiling when Quinn blushed.

"I'm only seventeen, ma'am." Quinn said sheepishly.

"Your feats are even more impressive, still." The king remarked. "Do you know why I've asked you here today, young lady?"

_I know the answer._ Quinn let a momentary smile slide onto her face as she looked up at the king. _But it would be in poor form to cut him off, wouldn't it? _"I do not, my king."

"Very well." The king said softly, nodding slowly. "My apologies, as this will be slightly abbreviated from the full ceremony. You were summoned in recognition of the strengths you have shown as a warrior and a tracker. Colonel Dillich, if you please?"

"Of course, your highness." The colonel said, bowing at the waist to the king as he stepped forward and bowed at the waist to the gathered masses. "In the centuries and millennia past, there have existed many orders of knighthood which recognized the skill and honor of their members, in their service to the king and crown, and in defense of Demacia and her ideals, and the pursuit of the justice and chivalry displayed by all citizens of our great country.

"As a knight, you are so charged with upholding the highest standards of Demacian nobility, for you are a beacon of hope to all of her peoples. As a member of this hallowed Order of Valor, which consists of Knights and Masters of Arms, you are hereby recognized by your outstanding martial achievement and the qualities and abilities which marks you as a candidate for this great honor."

"Members of this Order of Valor are both mighty warriors and justicars of the Demacian people, and have shown their willingness to give their time in the benefit of the common weal. As such, you are to be recognized as a Valor Knight of Demacia. Come forward, Valor Knights of Demacia: the Majesties now call before them the companions of this Order of Demacian Valor Knights."

Quinn's mouth hung open as she realized what was happening. She felt her stomach turn over in her belly, butterflies fluttering low in her chest as Demacian Valor Knights stepped forward, sweeping along both sides of her in a slow, measured pace. Twenty in all, divided into two long lines flanked the aisle that lead to the raised Demacian throne. Each Knight drew his sword, the simultaneous draw of steel sending shivers down Quinn's spine. Twenty swords were crossed, held aloft before the knights brought them down in front of themselves as they dropped to their knees, the swords held before them, blade down, their hands clasped around the hilts.

Colonel Dillich cleared his throat, raising his face to thehall. "The Crown now calls Quinn to come before this Court and Company."

"Your Majesties, now before you stands Quinn, daughter of Wernher of Eywind Village, master of the Demacian wilds, defender of the crown, captor of the Noxian agent Lambert, and slayer of the monster, Kampf, who bears the arms, to wit: Prince Jarvan Lightshield IV." Jerome announced loudly, a thin smile playing over his lips. As Quinn rose to her feet and stepped forward one long stride, raising her head and chin, her face blushed furiously. The king rose from his throne, his hand resting on the saber that sat on his hip. The queen got to her feet as well, with a hand of assistance from the King. Quinn noticed she was pale and looked frail despite her regal aura and the proud smile she wore.

Quinn stood in awe as the king drew the sword from his belt, raising it to the sky, high above his head. She stood frozen in her tracks for several moments as he lowered his sword before him, his hands resting on the pommel. "Quinn, daughter of Wernher, are you willing to undertake the responsibilities of knighthood, and have you undertaken the accolades of knighthood that was offered to you six nights previously by the Prince of Demacia?"

_Jarvan officially put me up for knighthood? _Quinn frowned for a brief moment as she thought back. _But when… six days? That was when…_ The revelation dawned on Quinn. _When I first met Sergeant Major Perrywinkle and Jarvan with in the city, Jarvan said he would reward me for watching over Shyvana. Is this…? _Quinn shook her head briefly as she steeled her expression. "I have."

"Then step forward. Colonel, the seal?" Colonel Dillich stepped forward, bearing an ornate wooden box. The king cracked the box open and withdrew a golden coin, slightly larger than common currency, held on a golden chain. "This seal has been passed from Valor Knight to Valor Knight throughout the ages of our great kingdom of Demacia. Let it now pass from Valor Knight to Valor Knight once again."

The king descended the first step and held the golden coin and chain towards a knight, clad in full ceremonial armor. The knight rose, and sheathed his sword, stepping forward and mounting the steps, accepting the coin and chain from the king. The queen stepped forward, raising her hands, spreading them to the crowd.

"Corporal Ellington Forsythe, Gunnery Sergeant Shyvana von Faust, and Sergeant Major Argus Perrywinkle, as friends and representatives of the one who has come before us for candidacy as a Valor Knight of Demacia, do you affirm that Quinn, daughter of Wernher, has grown in gentle virtue and chivalrous grace, the true hallmarks of a just and righteous Valor Knight of Demacia?"

Forsythe stepped forward, the chain and seal clutched in his hands. Quinn blinked twice, surprised by the realization that Forsythe had been with her the entire time. "May it please my Liege and Lady, that as the last remaining Knight of Exemplar Company, that having heard the counsel of my peers, and from my own certain knowledge, I am able to affirm that Quinn, daughter of Wernher of Eywind, is a chivalrous lady whose achievements on the field of battle has saved my life and the life of my prince on many occasion, and her prowess on the field of battle is only matched by the courtesy and concern for all of your Majesty's' kingdom."

Shyvana stepped forward, accepting the chain and seal from Forsythe. "Though I have not held this honor for long, I am able to affirm the bravery and righteousness of my friend and compatriot, Quinn, daughter of Wernher of Eywind. Her strength is both of mental fortitude and martial prowess, and her skills and friendships are chief amongst her possessions. She pursues her craft with the skill of an artisan, and shares her knowledge and practice within your Majesty's kingdom." Shyvana nodded at Quinn as the young candidate blushed at the words of her friend.

The sergeant major stepped forward and accepted the chain and seal from Shyvana. "I stand in the stead of my commander, Prince Jarvan Lightshield IV, to express to you that Quinn, daughter of Wernher of Eywind, has given her all in seeing that justice is spread throughout our realm, from her home as a child, to the assistance and aide she offered to untoward civilians in the face of peril and mortal danger. It is with this outstanding evidence that I affirm that this candidate will freely give herself to the glory and defense of your Majesty's kingdom."

The sergeant major returned the seal and chain to the Queen before the three stepped backwards and to the side in unison, arraying on Quinn's flank. The king raised his sword up, the polished blade gleaming brilliantly. He held the blade before his face, hiding half of it behind the massive blade.

"Quinn, daughter of Wernher of Eywind, you have been volunteered as a candidate for Knighthood of the great nation of Demacia. Your peers and have deemed you fit for this highest of estates, and have indicated your willingness to accept this honor from our hands. Do you swear by all that you hold sacred, true, and holy that you will uphold justice, honor, and defend the crown and kingdom of Demacia?"

Quinn took a deep breath, her entire body quivering in excitement. "I do."

"That you will honor, defend, and protect the citizens of Runeterra and all that are weaker than yourself, no matter who they call master or where they call home?" The king's voice was proud and Quinn could feel the excitement in her body begin to rise as his voice swelled.

"I will." Quinn said as firmly as she could.

"That you will hold yourself to the highest standard of all that is just and fair in the world, honoring both the reputations and opinions of your peers?"

"I will." Quinn's stomach was now struggling to rip itself from her body.

"That you will serve for the glory and betterment of Demacia and her peoples in the eyes of Valoran and the denizens of Runeterra beyond, drawing your arms only for just cause? That you will enshrine in your heart the noble ideals of Justice to the benefit of your good name and the standing of Demacia?"

"I will." Quinn said after sucking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

The king raised his blade above Quinn's head. "Then, having knowingly sworn these solemn oaths that we, Jarvan Lightshield III and Catherine Lightshield, by our right of arms and privilege as King and Queen of Demacia, name you a Valor Knight of Demacia, in the stead of my Son, Prince Jarvan Lightshield IV. Please kneel."

Quinn nodded absently and kneeled before the king. "It is with this sword and by all that you hold sacred, true and bold…" King Jarvan tapped the shoulder on Quinn's left shoulder. "Once for honor," He tapped her on the right shoulder. "Twice for justice." He ran the broad side of the blade along Quinn's neck. "and thrice for Valor. Arise, Lady Quinn of Eywind."

The queen stepped forward and draped the seal and chain over Quinn's neck. "Accept this seal as your promise to the Demacian Order of Valor Knights, to which you promise to uphold and defend the justice of Demacia." There was a heavy but reassuring weight to the ornament as Quinn stood up.

A smile flashed over the king's face as he stood back, lowering his sword. "Your official rank will be that of a sergeant, but Colonel Jerome, with my permission, has extended the offer of a Lieutenant's Commission as a Ranger of Demacia. You can accept at your own discretion. While most knights are given swords, a knight of your specific talents will have a weapon and armor forged to fit your preferences and skills."

"Thank you, sir." Quinn said, bowing again, the metal thunking against her chest. She glanced at Jerome who nodded and smiled, and then down at Valor who was hopping about excitedly, his wings flapping wildly.

The queen stepped back and began to clap, the applause swelling and echoing through the massive hall. The cheers were deafening as Quinn turned to face the crowd.

"Now, let us feast in your honor, as a Valor Knight of Demacia!"

...

The rest of the night had passed in a blur of congratulations and cheers. Quinn had never been one for public gatherings, but the sheer number of hands she had shaken and the people she had met had been more than enough to overwhelm the young tracker. Valor's presence didn't help, as many men and women wanted a chance to pet or see the last of the Demacian Eagles. When she had finally managed to escape from the wing of the queen and the looming presence of the king, Quinn had sought out some peace and quiet.

Her search had lead her to a balcony overlooking the massive courtyard that sat in the center of the Demacian Palace. Quinn eased herself onto a railing, pulling one leg to her chest, resting her arm atop her knee. Valor had hopped onto her arm, nuzzling the young knight's cheek. Quinn set about unwrapping the eagle's wing. Valor hopped about and flapped several times. He seemed slightly off balance, but he continued to bounce about until he had managed to obtain short level bursts of flight. He flapped rapidly as he climbed onto the railing before diving off the balcony. He disappeared for a few seconds before climbing back into view and circling around quinn excitedly. He wobbled a bit, but he landed steadily on the railing again before hopping excited back onto her knee. He squawked excitedly, bringing a smile to Quinn's face,

Quinn took a deep breath and let her head hang back as she exhaled heavily. _Well Caleb, Valor and I finally did it. I became a knight. I realized our dream._ Quinn thought back to the words Jerome had spoken to her before disappearing, escaping from the madhouse that had developed in the ensuing festivities.

_You have been Knighted. As such, you have obtained the rank of Sergeant. While you are free to do anything you wish in service to the crown, I do indeed invite you to serve with my Rangers. I will teach you everything that I know, and I hope that I might be able to garner some of the skill and intuition you showed in your fight with Lambert._

Quinn had graciously accepted, barely able to contain her excitement.

Valor nuzzled her her cheek again before lifting off, climbing for altitude in the cool evening air.

Quinn sighed and smiled as she pulled a small leather book from her cloak. Quinn opened the book to a fresh page and drew her quill pen, scratching out a few lines of text to commemorate the feelings of elation that still swirled in her chest.

_[We've done it._

_Valor and I brought the assassin to justice._

_For our efforts we've been given the highest honors and a place amongst Demacia's elite - granted by Prince Jarvan himself. It's strange. For all my life, I dreamed of being here in the city. The streets are crowded. Even at dusk, I hear the sounds of voices from the courtyard._

_I miss the leaves and the dirt beneath my feet and the silence of the forest._

_Val feels it, too. He's ready for our next mission._

_We're ready.]_


	7. Author's Note

With the conclusion of Cataclysm: Demacian Ranger, I'm standing on the verge of launching yet another massive project. However, I'm far more busy now than I was during the past few years and the ongoing releases of Dragonborn and Kalamanda Rising. As such, the release of Cataclysm: Beginning of the Fall is likely going to be delayed quite a while till I can get more of the story on paper as I continue to flesh the story out through planning and other scenes that I come and go working on. There is a lot more I have to hit, so I need to know where I'm going AND how I'm getting there, where in the past I've only know where I wanted to end.

While I work on the new story, as well as an original story of my own that I'm rewriting, I have created a Wordpress blog for rantings and posts about many things, Cataclysm among them. I'll likely throw in scenes that may or may not make it into the final release, as well as some other resources such as old planning documents, alternate ideas, and character dossiers that I use for reference. I will also post art of my doing and possibly some videos that I've been asked to create about the silly decisions regarding the Institute of War and Riot's penchant for 'Dark and Mysterious' pasts. So I'll be working on that, and while there won't be much Cataclysm for a while I've got a few other short, half finished projects I've been meaning to finish, so those might get finished and pushed out. A link to the blog can be found on my profile page.

Now a few questions for you, the readers:

What's the best way to get information about blog posts and my releases out? Any ideas? I've been struggling with this for a long time. In addition, I'd gladly accept short prompts as story ideas to work on to try and polish my writing style. If anyone has story requests for league champs/scenarios, or even other ideas from different universes, I'd love some requests/ideas/suggestions either here or on the blog.

As always, thanks for reading and following me for so long.

Cheers,

Val


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